Secret Past
by Raksha
Summary: What if the Sons had a daughter? And what if said daughter got kidnapped by Radditz and turned into a killer? Not as bad as it sounds!! A little bit of Gh/V on the side! Check it out! Please? Ch. 5 is up!!
1. Prologue

Summary: An A/U that ranges from the very first episode of DBZ through the Cell Saga and up to the time just before Buu. Once upon a time, Gohan had a sister a year younger than him. Then Radditz came, and the girl was taken away into slavery. What happens when she returns? How will her family and friends deal with the new, cold-blooded killer? 

Rating: Um…PG-13, for now. It's subject to change rather drastically depending on the reviews. 

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own the written rights to Dragonball Z, I am only a poor, obsessed fan. Sue me, and receive absolutely nothing but a major headache, a court bill, and a sound mocking from the judge. ^.^

  
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A/N: Okay, there are going to be some OOC in here. I realize that Piccolo doesn't actually become a 'good guy' until later on, but I wrote him as Gohan's sensei from square one. Radditz is a bit stronger than he was in the original series, because I need him to be! Um…If you see anything too wrong, tell me in a review, please! And keep in mind that this is an Alternate Universe, so not everything will go along with the series. Ja!

  
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**Secret Past**

  
**Prologue**

"Arrgg. Atari, why do you keep following me around?" Gohan demanded, at the end of his patience with his little sister. Although, to be truthful, the little six-year-old was only a year younger than he was. But Gohan was at that age when he wanted to be just like a grown-up. 

It was a beautiful day and young Gohan was eager to get to his training lessons with Piccolo and his father. But, on his way out, Atari managed to twist their mom into letting her go out with him instead of staying inside to study. 

"I want to watch you train, big brother," Atari said softly, looking up at him with her black eyes that seemed to be welling with tears. "I wont get in the way. I promise." 

To anyone else, the soft, vulnerable look would have melted their hearts and resulted in immediate agreement with whatever she asked. Gohan, however, grew up around her tricks and was immune to it. 

"No," he snapped, knowing he was being mean, and not really caring. "Why don't you go _away_? We don't want you here, Atari! You're just a stupid little girl that always gets in the way! I wish you would just leave…me…ALONE!" 

Atari glared after her brother as he took off. "You're such a jerk, Gohan!" She yelled after him. "Fine, go play your stupid little games! It's not like I wanted to be around you anyway!" 

Sniffing back real tears now, Atari turned to run away. Only, she ran smack into a very big, very muscular person. Looking up, she offered the big man a sweet smile. He had really long hair that brushed the back of his knees, and an angular face. He wore some kind of green-tinted eyepiece over his left eye that beeped and flashed yellow. 

"Well, well, well. What have we got here?" The man said with a sneer. 

"Hi, I'm Son Atari. Who are you?" Noticing a slight movement out of the corner of her eye, Atari looked down at his waist and gasped. "Hey, cool! You have a tail just like I do! See?" With that she whipped her own tail in front of his face, giggling as he irritably batted it out of the way. 

"A tail? Impossible. Could you be an offspring of Kakarotto?" He demanded. 

"What's a Kakarotto?" 

With an irritable growl, the man darted forward and snatched her by the hair. "I have had enough of your foolish questions, brat! You will tell me, now, who birthed you!" 

Atari winced. "My-my parents? Mama's Chi-chi, daughter of the Ox-King. Daddy's name is Son Goku. Now let go of me! That hurts!" 

The man shook her roughly. "You will not give me orders, maggot half-breed! I want to know-" 

"Let go of my daughter." 

"Daddy!" Atari squealed, struggling to get out of his hold. 

The longhaired man turned to face the three newcomers. One was green, obviously a Namek. The little boy standing beside him was nothing to worry about, but the sight of another tail angered him further. Seeing the fully-grown man glaring at him, hands clenched angrily at his sides, the scowl on his face deepened. 

"Kakarotto!" The man hissed. "Why isn't this planet barren? And what in the name of Lord Frieza possessed you to produce offsprings from one of the natives?" 

Goku slid into a fighting stance. "I don't know who this Kakarotto person is, but you had better let go of my daughter, mister!" 

"What," the man sneered, "don't you recognize your own brother, Kakarotto? Did you hit your head when you were still a brat, fool?" 

"So what if I did?" Goku demanded. "Who are you, anyway?" 

"So what if you-" The man choked on his rage. "Listen to me very carefully, Kakarotto, since you mind was obviously addled by that blow. You are of the mighty Saiyan race. You were sent here as an infant to destroy all life on this planet. I am Raditz, your brother, and-_oooffff_." 

Atari, having delivered a stunning kick to his stomach, slipped out of his grasp and hurried over to her father. Goku smiled down proudly at his daughter before turning back to scowl at the man. 

"I don't care what I was supposed to do," Goku said firmly. "My name is Son Goku now, and I am the protector of this planet. I suggest you leave." 

But Raditz was glaring at the girl child now. "Brat, I'll get you for that!" 

Safely behind her father's legs, Atari stuck her tongue out at him. "Go ahead and try, monkey-jerk! My daddy will whoop you good!" 

********(A/N: Okay, we all know what happens here. Goku and Raditz fight it out. Goku grabs tail. Piccolo shoots his Special Beam Cannon. Sorry, I'm just not good with fight scenes.)********

  


At the last moment, Raditz draws upon hidden reserves of strength and pivots on his foot, throwing Goku into the beam's path. Gohan cried out from behind the tree Piccolo had banished him to when the battle started. Atari screamed wordlessly as she watched her father's back arch and the beam cut through him and into Raditz. The attack exploded and dust filled the air around them. 

When at last the dust settled, they looked up to see Raditz dusting himself off, only a few scratches marring his uniform and Goku laid dead on the ground in front of him, blood slowly trickling out of his mouth. 

"_Daddy_," Atari cried, rushing forward, tears blinding her. "NOOO!!" 

"Atari! Wait-!" Gohan started after her, knowing he would be too late. 

Raditz smirked and scooped up the screaming child in one arm and aimed a blast at the boy. Behind him a ship slowly lowered until it was only a hundred feet or so above the earth. 

"No! Let me go!" Atari screamed, terror filling her voice. She craned her neck to look at her brother. "Gohan! Help me! _Please, Gohan!_" 

"Atari," Gohan called, running after her slowly vanishing form, his arms stretched out. 

But it was useless, and they both knew it. Atari sobbed in her "Uncle's" arms and watched as they grew closer to the gigantic ship. She was still crying as they entered and he threw her down on the cold metal ground. 

"Stop your whining, brat," Raditz growled, giving her a sharp kick to the side. Atari yelped and received another kick, then another, until she was completely silent. 

"What have you found for us?" A new voice asked curiously. 

Raditz laughed darkly. "A new pet for King Cold. I heard he broke his last one." 

The other voice laughed along with him. "Oh, yes. I'm sure he'll be pl-What's this?" The voice grew a hand, which reached out and pulled Atari up by her tail. "A tail?!" 

"Yes. It seems that Kakarotto mated with a native. It's pathetically weak, but that can be easily changed." 

"Hmm. It's been a long time since King Cold had a Saiyan, even a half-breed. Not since he gave Lord Frieza that dog, Prince Vegeta." 

Atari struggled to open her eyes, but saw only Raditz as he turned to leave. The pain from her tail was excruciating and she could hardly stay conscious. It hurt worse when her new capture started walking down the hallway, making absolutely sure to yank her tail roughly a few times. 

Finally they stopped after passing through a giant pair of doors. Then she was flying through the air, and Atari reacted purely on instinct, twisting so she landed on her hands and knees instead of her head. 

A deep chuckle sounded from above her. "What an amusing trick, Zarbon. Have you brought this little girl for me?" 

"Yes, my King," Zarbon said, bowing deeply. "A Saiyan half-breed taken after Raditz killed her father. I thought she might take the place of your last pet." 

"You are a considerate servant. Yes, I believe she might entertain me for a little while. Unfortunately she is really too weak to do anything with. Go, fetch the collar." 

Atari struggled to lift her head and looked at the voice coming from above her. What she saw was a monstrous beast that could only have come from the depths of hell. Her fear grew as he smiled toothily down at her. 

"Welcome, child, to the end of your life." 

  
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A/N: Well, that's the first installment. Read and Review, please! 

  
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	2. Chapter 1

Secret Past

  
Chapter 1

  


**Twelve Years Later:**

Atari sighed as the Cold family ship landed on another unfortunate planet. She was exhausted from her "training lessons" with Raditz and the Ginyu Force. The beatings they gave her were still fresh, but healing quickly even with the collar on. 

However, another landing meant that she would be expected to go out there and make it barren. Which meant another chance to use her new abilities. Atari grinned at the ceiling and sat up, waiting for the sharp pain from the collar to tell her when they wanted her to come. Adrenaline flooded her veins at the thought of being able to get free of the restrictive collar, even if it was for a moment. Even if it was only to kill hundreds upon thousands of innocent people. 

That last part made her frown. No, she wouldn't rejoice in the killing and blood spilling. Because that was bad. Wrong. She remembered, dimly, someone telling her that. Someone…from before her arrival on the ship. 

Although the ship was all that she could remember, she sometimes got flashes. Hints of a life without the constant pain and torture. Of happiness. It was a dream, of course. Nothing like that existed for monsters like her. This was where she belonged. With murderers and evil. Because that was exactly what she was. 

Agony, sharp and sweet, brought her out of her thoughts. Atari jumped up and barred her teeth at the mirror across from her. Yes, she was a monster. Now it was time to do what monsters did best. Destroy. 

As she jogged through the decks, Atari was struck by a strong sense of foreboding. Something wasn't right, and if it wasn't for the inhibitions of the collar, she could stretch out her senses and find out what, exactly, it was. 

Fortunately, she didn't need to wait long, as the screams began and servants started to run for the back of the ship. Atari scowled deeply at them before reaching out and grabbing one at random. 

"What is going on, slave?" She growled, her tail twitching slightly behind her in annoyance. 

"L-Lord F-Frieza and King C-Cold," the man stuttered. 

"What about them? Well, spit it out!" Atari shook him sharply. 

"They're dead!" He cried. "A boy, w-with a sword! He killed them, no problem! And now he's aiming for the ship!" 

Atari released him, shocked. She had thought that she was the only one strong enough to defeat King Cold and his pathetic family. What planet had they foolishly landed on, that hosted such a powerful adversary? 

Even as she thought this, her body was reacting, running to a safe place and curling into a ball. Fighting the pain of the collar, Atari pulled a thin blanket of ki around her, forming a shield. Hopefully it would be enough to keep her alive. 

Then she had no more time to think as the world around her exploded in fire and shrapnel. Beaten piece by piece, Atari was knocked unconscious. 

Outside, a boy with long purple hair surveyed the wreckage high above the ground with grim satisfaction. Now that that nuisance was taken care of, he could get on to more important things. Like explaining why the hell he was back here. How he had decided that, after destroying the androids and Cell, he had come to the conclusion that he was only drawing in more trouble for the recovering citizens by staying there. So he had left, hoping his mother from _this_ timeline would let him stay. 

This was not going to be easy, he thought. 

Half an hour later, they all sat silently. The lavender-haired boy lost deep in thought while he allowed the others to absorb what he had said. As he had hoped, his mother had immediately agreed, saying how nice it would be to have a young man around the house as a good influence for young Trunks. 

"I still don't understand why Cold waited so long to return," Vegeta growled, glaring hard at the rubble of the once-great Cold Ship. It was over five years ago that Kakarotto killed Frieza." 

Mirai shrugged. "I don't know. In my timeline, Frieza and Cold never showed up on Earth. Maybe they were hoping to become significantly stronger?" 

Vegeta snorted, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "They were weak enough that even Kakarotto's brat could have killed them. That is, _if_ he had had the decency to continue his training." Vegeta threw a glare at the boy, who only laughed sheepishly back. 

Krillien stiffened suddenly, jumping up as if he'd been bitten. 

"Did you guys just feel that?" Krillien demanded, staring intently at the wreckage that was once a ship. "I think…" 

"There is someone alive down there," Piccolo finished gruffly. "It's weak, but there." 

"Impossible," Mirai Trunks said, standing to take a look himself. Sure enough, there was a very faint ki signature. Whoever it was, they were unconscious. For now. 

"We should blast it now," Vegeta said. "While whatever it is, is still weakened." 

Trunks was in agreement with his father. He remembered all the horror stories he had heard about King Cold and his army. 

"But, what if it's someone good?" Gohan said softly, peering over the edge of the cliff. "I mean, like a hostage or something." 

"Don't be a fool, brat," Vegeta snapped. "Cold doesn't take hostages. He makes slaves, whores, soldiers, and toys; and whoever he captures always, _always_ end up like them. No one comes out from that family normal." 

Bulma snorted softly. "_That's_ for sure," she muttered, glaring at Vegeta. 

Vegeta turned to give her a warning glare that clearly said, 'Don't start, woman.' 

Bulma humphed and crossed her arms. "You should go get whoever it is, Trunks," she said. "They might need help." She shot Vegeta a sly look before continuing. "And, if they aren't good, then I'm sure you can more than handle him." 

"Well…" Trunks looked from his mother to Vegeta, unsure which to obey. 

Vegeta sighed. "You might as well, unless you want to hear that woman screeching at you for hours." 

"I do _not_ screech!" Bulma…well, screeched. 

It was at this point that Trunks hurried over to where the ki was coming from. What he found was enough to bring a shocked cry from him. Which brought Krillien down to see what was wrong. Trunks uncovered the rest of the body and they both stood there gaping. 

"It's a girl!" Krillien yelled. 

"Don't just stand there," Vegeta ordered from the hill. "Bring the wench up here." 

Trunks looked at Krillien, who shrugged, and picked up the unconscious form. When they got back up to the group, Trunks thought he saw his father's eyes widen a bit in recognition, but it was gone too quickly to see clearly. 

"Oh, the poor dear," Bulma said, rushing forward to help her. 

Vegeta grabbed her arm and roughly pulled the woman back. "Don't underestimate her because she's a woman, Woman. That armor she's wearing, black and silver, marks her as the deadliest fighter onboard. The scars, too, show that she's seen much combat." 

They all stood there for a moment, staring at the young woman. Her long black hair was tied loosely back in a braid, a strand or two falling around her face. A horrible scar that ran almost straight down from her temple to her chin marred the right side of her face. And even in sleep she exhibited a type of tenseness that said she might snap awake at any time. 

Vegeta scowled down at her, then moved forward quickly and ripped off the heavy iron collar. He remembered all too well the pain _that_ particular instrument caused. 

"You know," Gohan mused, almost to himself. "She looks…really familiar. Like I should know her from somewhere." 

Before anyone could respond to that statement, the girl awoke and snapped to her feet, glaring at those around her. Her tail swished slowly from side to side as she turned in slow circles, measuring each one of them against herself and determining which one was the weakest. Which one she would kill first. 

"Um…Vegeta," a short, bald man with six dots on his forehead said. "I think we should leave this one to you. She's at least part Saiyan." 

At the sound of Vegeta's name, Atari spun on her heel to find Vegeta leaning nonchalantly against a boulder. 

"Prince Vegeta," Atari snorted. "What a surprise to find you here. Wherever here might be, that is." 

"Brat," Vegeta acknowledged. "You're on Earth." 

"Earth…" Atari rolled the taste of the word around in her mouth and found it familiar. "I…know this place, don't I." 

Not a question, but not entirely a statement either. Vegeta shrugged and looked away. Atari waited patiently, knowing that the Prince wasn't ignoring her question so much as trying to think of how much to reveal. 

"Yes," he said finally. "I…I am given to understand you grew up here." 

Atari scowled and crossed her arms over her chest, unconsciously mirroring Vegeta. Another scan of the crowd yielded a boy only a year older than her. Black hair cropped close to his head, but not too close. He was familiar. There was a flash and suddenly she was looking down at a little boy, crying out. 

Yes. Now she remembered. This was Son Gohan, her big brother. And she could tell from the way he stared blankly at her, he didn't remember her at all. Which was just as well, seeing as how disgusted he would probably be to know the truth about her. 

Now she recognized the shot bald man. Krillien. He used to hold her, when she was little, and pretend with her that they were flying, since her mother had forbade learning how. 

"I see," Atari said slowly, turning back to Vegeta. "You didn't kill them," she said with absolute certainty, nodding vaguely to the ship. She looked over the purple-haired boy. "You. You did this." 

Trunks crossed his arms defensively. "Yeah. So what?" 

Atari just smirked and went to lean against a rock. After a few minutes, everyone relaxed and began talking to each other. No one picked up a conversation with her, having learned from Vegeta not to bother people who gave the distinct feeling of not wanting to be bothered. 

"Thank you," Atari murmured softly, knowing Vegeta heard her. "For taking off the collar. What are you doing here?" 

"The purple-haired one showed up suddenly," Vegeta rumbled, nodding slightly to the boy. "We came to investigate, since the last time the brat showed up, it was to tell us about the arrival of Cell. Besides that, Kakarotto is supposed to be returning from his training soon on one of the Outer Ring planets." 

Another flash, and Atari saw a man standing before her, yelling. Her father. Goku. Called Kakarotto by Sayjins. Then she saw him getting shot through the chest by a beam, held tightly by Raditz. 

They Outer Rings were planets that formed a semi-ring around each star system. Atari scowled deeply, looking up at the sky. She vaguely remembered that Cold had had her destroy an entire Outer Ring system because they were harboring revolts against the Cold Empire. 

"Do you know which one it was?" Atari asked expressionlessly. 

Vegeta scowled blackly into the sky. "No. I am assuming that it was the one closest to Namek." 

"Why?" 

"Because Namek was where Kakarotto killed Frieza," Vegeta snapped. "He destroyed the planet in the process." He narrowed his eyes at her. 

Atari nodded slightly. She remembered that day well. Cold had been especially furious with her. It was how she got another scar, this one across her stomach. And now she knew why he had gotten so mad at her, and not someone else. She was the daughter of the one who killed his son. Nothing like a family tiff. 

Vegeta glared at her suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?" 

Atari turned to stare up at the sky. "Cold had me destroy a Ring system." She threw Vegeta a vicious smile. "Lets hope it wasn't the Namek Outer Ring." 

Vegeta smirked back, and they stared up at the sky silently. 

"So…" Krillien began. "Shouldn't we be going to find Goku-?" 

He was cut off as the man himself suddenly appeared next to the large group of people. Goku blinked, surprised at seeing them all here. 

"Hey, guys!" Goku said, laughing. "How'd you know I'd be here?" He grinned when he saw Trunks. "Hey, Trunks! Is there more trouble?" 

Atari snorted softly to herself. Kakarotto sounded almost excited at the possibility of Earth being under attack. Beside her, Vegeta let out a similar huff of agreement. 

"No, Goku," Trunks said. "I…well, I guess I'm living here now." 

"Really? That's great!" 

Atari and Vegeta watched as the others laughed and joked together for a little while. Atari watched as her brother and father hugged and caught up on things, frowning a bit deeper. She couldn't do that, she realized. If they ever found out what kind of killer they were related to, the innocent glow that came form her two family members would dim, and Atari couldn't handle that. She had stood above countless bodies of countless warriors and watched as the last spark of life faded from their eyes, but she suddenly knew that she could never be responsible for that with Gohan or Goku. 

She sighed to herself. Even here, on her home planet, surrounded by her family, she was an outsider. 

"I-I can't believe it!" Goku said, snapping Atari out of her thoughts. "The _entire_ Cold family? That's amazing, Trunks!" 

Atari relaxed a bit. She was too uptight. If she didn't stop jumping at the sound of Goku's voice, Vegeta would get suspicious. If he wasn't already, that is. 

"Um, who's that?" Goku asked, pointing at the black-haired girl standing next to Vegeta. 

"We don't really know," Gohan said, hesitant about voicing his thoughts. "But…" 

"But what, son?" 

Gohan shook his head helplessly. "She looks…so familiar to me, but she's a master at masking her ki signature. I can't get a clear feel for it." 

Goku frowned at the girl a moment before shrugging. "Well, there's only one way to find out. Hey! Girl!" 

Atari jerked her head up to see Goku starting over there, a warm smile on his face. 

"What?" Atari demanded coldly, hoping he would be discouraged by her tone. 

"Hi, I'm Son Goku!" He said, reaching out his hand. "Who are you?" 

Atari stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before brushing it aside. "No one of importance, Goku. Good bye." 

"Running so soon, brat?" Vegeta mocked. 

Atari turned to bare her teeth at him. "I have other plans. Plans that don't involve hanging around weaklings like yourself." 

"I'm really sorry, miss," Goku said, suddenly appearing in front of her. "But I need to know who you are. My son and I both agree that you look familiar to us." 

Atari took a deep breath, steeling herself for the truth, and a step back from Goku. "Well, I should hope that you would remember me," she said. Then she slid Gohan a bland look. "Was twelve years long enough for me to leave you alone, Gohan?" 

Gohan winced away from her, looking both sick and overjoyed. 

"_Atari!_" He sobbed, the name sounding as if it had been torn from his lips. 

"Very good, _big brother_," Atari mocked. 

She glanced over at her father and couldn't stop the worried frown from sliding over her face for a moment. He stood beside a tree, grasping at it a bit desperately, looking very pale and very shocked. 

"I am impressed," Vegeta laughed. "It's not every day you see that clown speechless." 

Atari gave Vegeta a scathing look that clearly told him where to stuff his smart assed comments. Turning back to her father, she saw that he was recovered, but in a state of denial. With a sigh, Atari let go of her tight leash on her ki, letting it flow though her, around her, and out towards the man. 

Goku gave a kind of shuddering sob and ran at her, laughing and crying at once. Atari braced herself for an attack, certain the feel of her power had pushed him off the deep end. However, all he did was scoop her up in a bone-breaking hug and twirl her around and around. 

Then she was back on the ground, wincing from her almost healed injuries. Gohan was there in the next moment, wrapping his arms around her tightly, repeating a litany of apology softly as he cried. 

Atari suffered through this for a few minutes before gently and firmly stepping away from them. Being around them like this, it was almost claustrophobic to her. They were inside her guard, and she kept expecting to feel the impact of fist to flesh. When she felt nothing, it wound her nerves tighter and tighter. 

"Wait, wait," Krillien was saying. "_This_ is little Atari? I don't believe it!" 

"Things can change drastically in twelve years," Atari said expressionlessly. "Now that the reunion is finished, I'll see you around." 

"You can't leave!" Gohan yelled, reaching out to grab her arm again, he stopped from the icy look she gave him. "What about Mom? And you haven't even met Goten, your little brother!" 

"No." Atari stated simply. She shook her head, staring off into the distant mountains. "I don't belong here now, Gohan. I don't want to hurt…Mom and you know that if she sees me like this…it'll hurt her very badly." 

Gohan shook his head stubbornly. "She won't care what you look like." 

Atari smiled gently. "That wasn't what I was referring to, was it, Gohan?" 

Gohan looked up from his shoe to her eyes pleadingly, tears collecting slowly. "But-" 

He stopped as Goku put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It is her decision, Gohan. If she feels she's not ready…" 

"Why are you being so stubborn, Atari!" Bulma demanded with her usual tactlessness. "If we could deal with _Vegeta,_ we can deal with you." 

Atari laughed shortly and stared at Bulma, letting the darkness inside of her fill her gaze. "Vegeta was nothing compared to what I am," she said darkly. 

Bulma swallowed heavily and backed away a half step. "S-So? We learned what not to do from Vegeta, and if you get out of control, we have four Super Saiyans to control you. I don't see the problem." 

"You wouldn't," Vegeta sneered. "I say we get rid of the brat while we have the chance." 

"If you don't want to stay with your parents," Bulma was continuing, completely ignoring Vegeta's comments, "we have tons of extra space at Capsule Corps." 

Atari smirked at Vegeta. "It's amusing how much they value your opinion, Princeling." 

"Keep your mouth shut, slave girl," Vegeta growled, miffed. 

Atari's smirk continued into a smile. "You wound me, monkey-pet, with such harsh words." 

"Silence, impudent Collared." 

Atari narrowed her eyes. "Now, isn't that the Star Destroyer calling the Mother Ship black?" She turned back to her father and brother abruptly. "Alright. I'll stay for a little while." 

This, however, met with more enthusiastic hugs and yells. Atari sighed, and waited for this to pass. She had no idea what she had just gotten herself into, but whatever it was, she would have to deal with it. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed her family a bit desperately. She craved their love and affection. 

Now all she had to do was learn how to accept it. 

Flying back to the Son house was relatively quiet. Bulma, Vegeta, Mirai Trunks, Krillien, and Piccolo had all left, leaving them in peace. Atari darted curious glances at her brother as they flew. She kept seeing these strange patterns in his ki out of the corner of her eye, only to have them vanish when she looked directly at him. It was strange… Sort of like Vegeta's, but much more chaotic and… 

Atari faltered in her flying as realization hit her. The two males stopped, worried, and looked back at her. Seeing Gohan's innocently clueless expression, Atari burst out in fits of laughter, the first in a very, very long time. He didn't even know! Her poor innocent brother had no idea he was bonding with someone! It was priceless. 

"What?" Gohan demanded, knowing she was, for some unexplainable reason, laughing at him. "What's so funny?" 

Atari only laughed harder, wrapping her arms around her stomach to keep it form hurting too much. Goku grinned at his daughter, pulled into a good humor by this abrupt swing of moods. Gohan, however, was getting angry. Seeing this, Atari took control over her mirth and smiled at him, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. 

"Shouldn't we be getting home, dear brother?" Atari asked with false sweetness. 

"I want to know what you were laughing at," Gohan stated, flying beside her with his arms crossed. 

Atari couldn't stop the chuckle from slipping past her lips. "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough, Gohan," she assured him. "After all, the full moon's soon, isn't it?" 

Goku scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh, we kind of had to get rid of the moon. But, the night the full moon is supposed to arrive is only a few weeks away." 

Atari nodded, smirking. "Thought so." 

Then they were there, and Atari didn't say anything else. She stared at the house, growing grim. She could feel her mother bustling around inside, and another larger energy that shadowed her joyfully. Goten, more than likely. So much rode on Chi-Chi's reaction to seeing her. 

"Don't worry," Goku said, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "Chi-Chi'll be ecstatic. You'll see." 

"MOM!!" Gohan yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. "GOTEN!! WE'RE BACK!!" 

Atari winced and scowled at her brother, who grinned back. He'd done it on purpose, the jerk. 

"Gohan!" A woman's voice yelled back as she pulled open the door. "How many times do I have to tell you-SWEET KAMI!!!" 

Atari didn't have time to wince this time. If she had thought her brother and father were fast, they were nothing compared to how quickly her mother tackled her, sobbing hysterically on her shoulder. As Chi-Chi was squeezing the air out of her, Atari turned to her dad. 

"Are you sure she's not Saiyan, Dad?" She asked a bit breathlessly. 

Goku laughed, giving her his famous Grin. "Everyone asks that. But, nope, she's completely human." 

"My baby!! Oh, you're back!" Chi-Chi cried. Suddenly she pulled back to examine her, no tears evident on her face, but there was a damp stain on her shirt. "What did those ba-" 

"Language, Mother," Atari corrected softly, looking over at the kid who stood shyly in the shadow of the doorway. 

This, however, only made Chi-Chi dissolve into tears again. Atari gave a long-suffering sigh and awkwardly patted her back, not really sure what to do. Still, the elder woman slowly stopped again and straightened up, sniffing. 

"You look half starved," she said, drying her eyes with her sleeve. "I'll fix you something to eat." 

Atari glanced at the door again to see the kid standing with uncertain resolution, his arms crossed. She smirked at him before turning back to her mother. 

"If you think your guard will let me in," she said dryly. 

Chi-Chi blinked at looked back at Goten. Smiling widely, she held out her hand and the kid came running out to grab onto her skirt. 

"Goten," Chi-Chi said gently, looking down at him, "this is your big sister, Atari." She looked up at her daughter. "This is Goten, Atari." 

Atari blinked down at him. "Wow. He looks just like Dad." 

Goten looked up at her. "Mama talks about you sometimes," he said, still clinging tightly to his mother. "Brother, too, when he gets real upset." 

Atari twisted her lips into a grin. "No doubt recanting how very annoying I was and how I seemed to get out of everything." 

Goten grinned, coming out a bit further from behind his shield. "He said you were such a pest sometimes." 

Atari smirked again. "I'll tell you a secret, Goten. I knew _exactly_ how much it annoyed him. That was the whole point." 

Gohan gave a mock growl and Goten came completely out from behind his mom to run at Atari. Controlling her initial urge to fight him, she caught him as he jumped at her, and swung him up on her shoulders. 

"Weee!" Goten laughed. "Again!" 

Chi-Chi sighed happily as Gohan joined the fun and the three of them began a mock battle. She had given up all hope of seeing her entire family together again. Goku stood beside her, silently watching his daughter as well. Something relaxed in both parents, and Chi-Chi went inside to make the promised meal. 

A couple of hours later, a very tired Goten, a sore Gohan, and a triumphant Atari walked inside and sat down for dinner. Well, Goten and Gohan sort of stumbled and collapsed into their chairs while Atari sat down with no look of strain whatsoever. 

Goku laughed at their worn expressions. "What happened to you two?" 

Gohan glared balefully at his sister while Goten grinned happily, despite his exhaustion. It was the latter of the two that answered. 

"Atari beat us both," Goten chirped, sounding a bit awed. "At the _same time_, too!" 

Atari took a sip of water to hide her smile. It was easier than she had expected to slide back into her life, and she could already feel the pain of King Cold sliding away. However, looking at her parents, she knew things were far from resolved. 

But all such thoughts slid away as the food was set in front of her. She was so very hungry. The last meal she had eaten was…a week ago, when she had purged that class D52 planet and was allowed to replenish the lost energy. It was hard not to just burry her face in the food and inhale it like her father and brothers were doing, but she knew what happened when you gorged too much after not eating for a long time. 

"You don't eat enough," her mother griped, shoving more food at her. "Eat!" 

Finally, Atari had met her mother's criteria for 'enough', and was allowed to lean back and digest. She was so stuffed, if there was an attack, the only thing she'd be able to do is barf on them. 

"I was thinking," Chi-Chi said casually, as she cleared away the dishes. "You can't have gotten a very good education out there. I shudder to think how far behind you must be in your studies." 

Atari yawned. "The only thing I fell behind in is History, Mother. Cold didn't like uneducated sl-" 

Atari bit her tongue hard, swallowing back her words as she saw Goten watching curiously. No reason to let the kid know what his sister was, she thought a bit bitterly. 

"Hey, kid," Atari said, "why don't you go work off those pounds you put on, so next time, I might work up a sweat fighting you." 

"Okay!" Goten, as innocent to the world as his father, cheered and hopped out of the chair and ran outside. 

Once they were alone, Atari could feel the weight of the triple stares. They all wanted to know what had happened over the twelve years she had been gone. And she would tell them some of it. But not all. No, that was her burden alone to carry. 

Clearing her throat, Atari began. "When Raditz took me, I became a slave aboard the Cold Family Mother Ship. Once there, I was…trained by the Elite Guards and anyone else stronger than me." 

"Why?" Gohan interrupted. "It would seem to me that they would want to keep you as weak as possible. Weren't they afraid you'd turn against them?" 

"Do you remember the collar Vegeta took off me?" When he nodded, Atari continued. "It was a…control device. It regulates how much ki a person can use. If they try to power up past the allotted ki, they are subjected to a series of very painful jolts of electricity. The further you go over the bar, the more painful it becomes. 

"Besides," Atari shrugged, as if unconcerned, "no matter what they did to me, I would always grow stronger. Beatings raised my power level. Torture raised my power level. I guess they decided that they might as well make use of me." 

By this time, Chi-Chi was looking very pale. Atari jerked her head at Gohan and the boy went to get a glass of water for her. Once she was relatively certain her mother wouldn't faint, Atari went on. 

"They put me to purging planets about a year after I was taken. By this time, they had…brainwashed me into forgetting my life here. King Cold told me that I was an orphaned space brat, and I believed him." 

"Purging?" Goku asked, a frown gathering. "Like what Raditz wanted me to do? Destroy planets?" 

Atari swallowed and grasped self-control tightly. Now was not the time to loose control. "Not destroy," she corrected, bitterly mocking her orders. "I was to 'eliminate all life forms on the planet.' Make it hospitable for clients who wished to buy." 

"How…horrible," Chi-Chi whispered. 

"For eleven years I have wiped out entire races," Atari said, leaning forward, suddenly intent on making them understand just what kind of monster she was. "I watched the life drain from brave, honorable warriors. I murdered women and children. Anything and everything you could possibly dream of in your worst nightmares, I have done." 

"But…_why_?" Chi-Chi cried, tears falling down her face in thick rivers. "Why would you do such a thing?" 

"Because they told me to," Atari told her softly. "And because…I could." 

"You're lying!" Gohan said fiercely. "There's something you aren't telling us. The Atari I knew would never do anything like that voluntarily." 

"The Atari you knew is dead," Atari snapped. She took a deep breath, forcibly reminding herself that she had to tell them the truth. They had a right to know what they harbored. 

"But, you are right." She conceded. "In the beginning, they did force me to go down to the surface. They threatened me with starvation and beatings and…worse things. When it became apparent that I could handle such tortures, they turned to the others. Started putting my punishments on them." Atari's eyes grew darker. "The other slaves weren't half-breed Saiyans. They couldn't last under the punishments. They died. So I learned to accept the raids. I even learned to love the freedom it gave me, because that was the only time Cold lifted my restrictions of the collar. It was his way of gauging how strong I was becoming." 

Atari paused for a moment, hearing the screams and begging of countless civilizations as she slaughtered each and every last one of them. So many people…She thought sadly. So many lives lost forever. 

"How…how did you get the scar?" Goku said hoarsely, as if choked by huge emotion. Looking at him, Atari couldn't tell if it was grief or fury. 

Atari reached up to touch the side of her face. "This one? Oh, I…hehe," Atari laughed nervously. "I got that from hacking into the databanks. I guess Cold was afraid I was looking for my past. It probably never occurred to him that I'd be- Well, he got mad, and tried to kill me. Only, by then I was fast enough to dodge it mostly. So instead of taking my head, it took a bit of my face. I think it's a good compromise. My life for my looks." 

"Definitely," Gohan laughed. 

There was a long silence as Atari gave them time to adjust to the new her. It was a lot to handle, and she knew it couldn't be easy for them. The last they had seen of her, she was an innocent, manipulative, sweet little girl. Now she was a hard, cold adolescent killer. Not your average teen, she thought dryly. 

"Well," Chi-Chi said briskly. "As I was saying, I think you should attend school with Gohan as soon as possible. After all, there is nothing more important-" 

"Than a good education," Atari recited, smiling vaguely. "Yes, Mother. I remember. I could never forget your lessons." 

Gohan snickered behind his hand as Chi-Chi preened proudly. He abruptly stopped when her wrathful glare settled on him. 

"Yes, well, you are obviously going to need more clothes," she continued. "How about we wait a week, let you adjust, and then take you shopping and enroll you in your classes?" 

A week. It didn't really seem long enough for her, but Atari saw the yearning in her mother's eyes. She wanted so very much to put everything back the way it was. Sighing, Atari nodded, knowing she couldn't have done anything else and risk making her unhappy. 

Chi-Chi smiled brightly at her daughter. "Great! That'll give Goten time to get to know you, not that he needs to adjust any. You will be an excellent mother, Atari!" 

Atari winced. "You'll have to rely on Gohan and his mate for that, Mother. I'll not choose one." 

"What! Why not?" 

She sighed. "Another night, please? I'm so very tired and-" 

"Of course, dear," Chi-Chi agreed instantly, already having a strong idea of why her daughter was abstaining. "Do you remember where your old room is?" 

Atari yawned again. "Yes, Mother. Good night." 

"Good night!" They chorused brightly. 

Atari went to her room in a sort of daze. She was home, with a full stomach, and they hadn't recoiled too much from her story. There was nothing more she could possibly want. Looking at the soft, cushiony mattress, she was forced to amend that thought. She wanted a single night without dreams. 

  
~~~~~~~~ 

  
A/N: Okay, slightly longer. Um…I really can't think of anything to post. As always, review, review, and review!! Thanks!

  
~~~~~~~~

  



	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, a disappointing lack of reviews, but I am nothing if not determined. Well……determined and very, very bored. **DejaVu**, my only reviewer, sorry to disappoint. She gets with another original character. But Mirai _does_ find someone. To those who are reading without reviewing, enjoy the next few chapters! I most likely won't finish this one. *shrugs* Oh, well!

  
**Secret Past**

  
**Chapter 3**

  
When she woke up the next morning, she was relieved to see that her wish had been granted. She hadn't slept so well in years. Looking out her window, she could just see the first rays peeking over the grassy hill. Breathing in the fresh breeze, Atari decided on a brisk morning jog. She had never gotten the chance to enjoy the earth on her purges, and she was not about to let this chance slips though her grasp. Taking a quick sweep of the house, she determined them all still asleep, although her mother looked close to waking.

  
Leaping on the windowsill, she was gone in moments, racing off for the horizon at incredible speeds. She dodged through trees and leaped over stumps, stubbornly refusing to use any amount of ki, relying purely on her Saiyan instinct and reflexes. When she saw the edge of the cliff coming into view, she grinned wildly and launched herself off the side of it, letting herself fall until she almost touched the crystal-pure water below before rocketing off.

  
Finally running down on some of her energy, she decided to head back, sensing her mother waking. She wouldn't want her to worry unnecessarily. But on the way back, she was side tracked by a quick bath, feeling the grime of slavery sticking to her.

  
Atari calmly walked through the front door and had to duck as a frying pan was swung with deadly accuracy at her. Blinking, she relieved her mother of the weapon, lifting a brow questioningly.

  
"Oh! I'm sorry, Atari," Chi-Chi said, taking back the pan to continue cooking. "I thought you were Goku or one of the boys. They're always trying to sneak in here and get some 'snacks' as they call it."

  
Atari grinned briefly, settling down at the table. "Do you think it would be alright if I borrowed some of Gohan's clothes until I go shopping, Mother? These aren't in the best of condition."

  
"Of course! Go right into his room," she said distractedly, very busy with the huge orders of food. "He's out gathering wood with Goku and Goten."

  
Atari nodded and left. Hunting through his drawers, she carefully chose clothes that could be used as a fighting gi, but were loose enough not to invoke any…male appreciation.

  
Making her decision, she lifted out the long-sleeved dark blue shirt, mostly to hide any upsetting scars, a baggy black vest, and a pair of loose-fitting black pants. Her hair went into it's normal loose braid, and she was ready for another day of 'adjusting'.

  
After breakfast was served and inhaled, Gohan said his goodbyes and headed out for school. Chi-Chi began cleaning, humming softly to herself, and even managed to browbeat her husband into helping.

  
"Want to go to Trunks' house?" Goten asked hopefully, making puppy-eyes at her.

  
"That wont work on me, Goten," Atari chuckled. "I was the inventor of the Puppy-eyes. It got Mother every time. But, alright. Go tell Mother while I dig up some of Gohan's shoes."

  
"Yiiippeee!!" Goten yelled, racing off to find his parents.

  
Atari sighed and shook her head, relieved to find that she now had a moment to herself. Being in a family so closely knit like this one was hard work. She couldn't scowl like normal, because they would think she was mad at them. She couldn't ignore them if they started to annoy her, or blast them into oblivion. But she would manage. She hoped.

  
It quickly became apparent that Goten, while he possessed tremendous fighting potential, needed serious training. He couldn't even fly yet and Atari was surprised to find herself wanting to be the one who taught him. 

  
"Goten," Atari said as she flew along side the fluffy golden cloud known as Nimbus. "If you want, I'll teach you how to fly without the cloud."

  
She frowned to herself at the ridiculously pleased feeling she got when her little brother's eyes lit up with excitement.

  
"Really?!" He cried, "That would be great! Then I could beat Trunks no problem, 'cause he doesn't know how to fly either!"

  
Atari nodded, smirking at the demi-Saiyan's competitive attitude. She wasn't too surprised that they touched down outside Capsule Corporation, the home Bulma had offered to let her stay at. She was even less surprised to feel Vegeta's impressively strong ki inside a training room.

  
She followed casually as Goten raced up the drive and into the house without knocking. Looking around, she unconsciously began to form a perimeter map in her mind, locating all possible exits and how they might be ambushed.

  
"Atari!" A light, feminine voice called from the doorway. She looked up to see it was Bulma. "Hey, come on in!"

  
Atari continued inside and offered the blue-haired woman a small smile. It seemed to please her, and she grinned back happily.

  
"Goten has already claimed Trunks for the afternoon, so I thought you and I might talk." Bulma said, fixing two cups of warm tea.

  
Atari's defenses automatically snapped up. "About what?" She demanded cautiously. 

  
Bulma sat down, still casual. She hadn't been exaggerating when she had said she had learned from Vegeta's cold attitudes and could deal with her. And now was the perfect time to start what was obviously going to be a very hard, very long job of cracking through the icy shell.

  
"Like how you're dealing with a family like Chi-Chi's," Bulma smiled. "I know Chi-Chi's really harsh, and Goku can be a moron most of the time. Gohan's-"

  
"They're my family," Atari interrupted, her voice so cold Bulma shivered. "Be careful of what you say about them around me, Bulma."

  
Bulma hid her smile by taking a sip of tea. Good, the girl was at least protective of her family. That was more of a start than she had with Vegeta.

  
"Okay," Bulma said passively. "How do you like Goten? He's almost as bad as my boy, Trunks. Put both of them together and…well, you'll see, I'm sure."

  
Atari smiled a little at this. "I told him I'd teach him to fly," she said. "Riding a cloud isn't the safest transportation. All an enemy would have to do was knock you off and you're dead."

  
Bulma blinked, caught off-guard by the strategic implications of teaching Goten to fly. "You know, I've never really thought of it that way." She scowled blackly at the wall. "I guess that means I should let Vegeta train Trunks like he wanted to. Kuso. I hate it when that man's right."

  
Atari took a sip of the tea, glancing at the woman's neck as she did. She didn't see any signs of a Marking, but it sounded like they were already mated from the way Bulma carried on.

  
"I hear Chi's going to send you to high school," Bulma said, once again picking up a possible conversation topic.

  
"I don't really need to," Atari said, shrugging, "but she wants me to go. The only subject I need more information about is History, and that really isn't a too important subject, considering I know thousands of other histories of other planets."

  
"Really?" Bulma's scientific mind perked up. "Like what?"

  
Atari considered for a moment, sorting through the files in her mind. "Like Bojora. It's a class Tri-41, which is a basic gas giant. The Bojorans were a relatively warring planet, although they were pretty good at keeping it on their own planet." Relaxing into the chair, Atari recited what she knew. "They built their homes in the air, using hover platforms that stretched for miles and were connected by thick, magnetic wires so they could drive from floating fortress to floating fortress with relative ease. Standing at about five feet nine inches on an average, they look vaguely bat-like. They stand erect, that is, on two legs, but their bodies are covered in short dark fur. Females in brown and males in black. Their arms look human, but they're able to release a catch on their forearms that releases wings that connect from their forearms to just past their armpits. They are very territorial, which gives reason to the wars, and easily pissed off. Once you got them mad at you, you'll have an enemy until their entire Clan dies."

  
"Wow." Bulma breathed. "They sound incredible. Vegeta never talks about this sort of thing."

  
Atari shrugged. "Vegeta lived a different life than I did on the Cold ship. He was treated more harshly because he refused to suck in his pride."

  
"You knew him in space?"

  
"Yeah." Atari shuddered. "He's changed so much since then, it's almost unbelievable. I remember a time when he would have torn apart any woman who dared to even suggest that they share company for a while." She shot Bulma a significant look. "Much less bare is brats."

  
Bulma blushed, then paled when she noticed the plural. "How do you…?"

  
Atari shrugged vaguely. "I've seen it enough times to know the signs. If you don't want him to find out, I can create a shielding around the kid that even he wouldn't be able to detect. Otherwise, he'll see it in a week or so."

  
Bulma shook her head, blushing once more. "No, thank you. But it does pose a problem."

  
Atari shrugged, lifting a hand. "I can get rid of it, too."

  
"No!" Bulma yelled, wrapping her arms around her middle until Atari lowered her hand with a smirk. "I meant, that Vegeta and I decided that, if I have another child, I'd let him…ah…"

  
"Mark you," Atari supplied, her voice was as always, cold, distant, and unemotional.

  
"Yes," Bulma said, relieved she understood. "I just don't know if I can take that kind of bond with Vegeta of all people."

  
Atari tilted her head, examining Bulma's weak signature. "You can hear his thoughts sometimes, if you get close enough, right?" Bulma nodded, speechlessly. "Then the only difference would be that you'll hear him more easily unless you put up walls to guard your thoughts. He'll probably explain that to you, though. From what I've seen of bonds, all that happens is you understand each other more clearly." Atari smirked, unable to resist adding, "However, if you are kept apart for prolonged periods of time, like a year or so, then you'll begin going through what's commonly known as link deprivation. You slowly go insane with the pain. It usually takes about a month for Bonded couples to die."

  
Bulma narrowed her eyes. "You sound like you know this from personal experience."

  
"Cold found it most amusing to lock one of them away and throw the other into the throne room with him," Atari said. "He liked to watch as they tried to claw their skin off. And he liked to make me watch."

  
"How terrible," Bulma shuddered violently. "He was a sick bastard and I'm glad Trunks killed him!"

  
Atari sat back, watching the woman working herself into a fit, and waited to see how long it would take Vegeta to respond. Not long, she thought, when she saw him round the corner and storm into the room, a towel draped around his shoulders, not three minutes later.

  
"You're getting soft, Princeling," Atari greeted him. "In three minutes, I could have done hundreds of unspeakable things to her, and be well away from here."

  
Vegeta clenched his fists and glared furiously at Atari. "Why is the woman upset in the first place?"

  
Atari shrugged, taking another drink of the tea. "She's your mate, shouldn't you know?"

  
"I'm fine, Vegeta," Bulma growled, still pacing out her anger. "Ooohhh, but I wish that monster was here!" She added as an afterthought, "And I could actually do serious damage to him!"

  
"Who?" Vegeta demanded.

  
Atari's lips curled into a grin. "I believe she's referring to King Cold."

  
Vegeta snorted. "And how did you get on that subject?"

  
"We were holding a conversation," Atari replied, being deliberately vague.

  
Vegeta, however, looked ready to pull the information out of her. Before he could continue, though, Goten and a purple-haired boy rushed into the kitchen, skidding to a stop when they noticed how upset Vegeta and Bulma were. Turning to Atari, who was the only one who didn't look angry, they grinned at her.

  
"What do you want?" Atari asked, ignoring the large, vulnerable expressions they had managed to create.

  
Goten and Trunks traded glances, neither wanting to be the one to ask whatever it was on their mind. Finally, Trunks crossed his arms with a huff and stepped forward.

  
"We want you to train with us," he stated firmly, every inch the son of the Prince Vegeta.

  
Atari noticed the smile that flickered across Vegeta's face before he covered it with a scowl. Turning her attention back on the two demi-Saiyans, she considered them carefully. 

  
"Very well," she said at length, glancing at the clock. "It is getting late, and Goten and I need to be getting back before Mother comes looking for us." Goten shuddered at the thought, adding dramatic effect. "Come over tomorrow."

  
Trunks nodded happily and raced back off to wherever they were before while Goten ran outside to call Nimbus. Atari said her polite farewells to Bulma and Vegeta before following him out at a slower pace. She was a little surprised to find him waiting on her patiently.

  
"Gohan should be home soon," Goten offered as they headed back. "He's a super-hero now! Isn't that so _cool_?"

  
Atari arched an eyebrow. "A superhero? Why would he want to do that?"

  
Goten shrugged, still grinning. "I dunno. But his costume looks really neat. Trunks's mom made it for him."

  
Atari nodded and fell silent for the rest of the trip. It was obvious to her, if she thought about it, why he would go through the trouble of getting a costume. If he were attending high school with other humans, he would undoubtedly want to 'fit in'. A small smile flickered over her features as another thought hit her. He might not want his Chosen to know about him right then, either. If that was the case, school might just be interesting. 

  
They landed a few minutes later and Atari went inside to see if her mother needed any help. They made dinner together, once Chi-Chi had determined her daughter could actually cook well. 

  
Soon after it was finished, Goten came in, followed close by Gohan, decked out in his Saiyaman costume. Atari, who happened to be in the process of setting the table, paused for a long time, staring at the ridiculous garments he was clothed in. He looked like a fool, but it was his choice…she supposed. Maybe it was Bulma's idea of a joke. Though she doubted it, from the way Gohan was proudly displaying it.

  
"Neat, isn't it?" Gohan preened, obviously taking her shocked silence for awe.

  
Atari swallowed back her harsh, cruel words and continued setting the table. "Sure, Gohan," she said gently, not knowing what else to say. 

  
Dinner was eaten quickly and soon Atari found herself yawning and stumbling back to her bed, looking forward to another pleasant sleep. Unfortunately, she wasn't to have any rest that night, for the moment she drifted off, she was attacked by past horrors.

  


  
~~~~~~~~~~

  
**_She was eight years old now, and was beginning to become accustomed to her new life. Despite the constant pain and undeserved beatings, she had managed to make a few friends onboard the ship. Nassaki, a fellow slave, was like a big brother to her, and comforted her when she was thrown back into the barracks after the 'training sessions'._**

  


  
~There was a flash, and her dream skipped ahead a few days.~

  
**She now stood in front of King Cold as he held Nassaki before her by his collar.**

  
"We do not _make friends, slave whore!" He raged, sending volts through the collar into her as he spoke._

  
By now Atari knew enough not to cry out, but when he started hitting Nassaki, she couldn't stop herself from throwing herself forward, screaming.

  
"No! Please, don't hurt Nassaki!" Atari cried, tears falling down her cheeks. "Please, King Cold! I'll do anything, just don't hurt him anymore!"

  
Cold paused, smirking down at the sobbing child. By now, Nassaki was a moaning, bloody lump. He threw the boy at Atari's feet.

  
"Very well, Atari," he crooned. "I'm feeling generous today, so I shall give you a choice. I can continue beating this pathetic excuse of a specimen, or…" he paused to smirk more widely. "Or, you can kill him now, with your own hands, and save him the torment."

  
Atari looked up at her master, eyes wide. She didn't need to ask if her was joking. King Cold never joked around with death. Slowly, she looked down at Nassaki, then back up to Cold.

  
"I-I don't know how," Atari whispered, still crying softly.

  
"Of course you do, imbecile!" Cold yelled. "You are part Saiyan! Just do it!"

  
Atari was crying harder now, but didn't make a sound as she knelt by her friend's body and reached out with her small, child hands. She watched his eyes widen, following her hands in fear. It was then that she lashed out, not with her hands, but with her tail, wrapping it around his neck and giving it a hard, quick snap. He was dead instantly.

  
Cold laughed, clapping. "Bravo! He didn't even see his death coming!" His amusement suddenly vanished. "Guards!"

  
Atari didn't resist as they tore off her shirt and pulled her arms straight out to her sides. She stared up at Cold, her master, as the lightening whip cracked through the air and onto her back, making her body convulse in pain.

  
"You will never again seek to befriend another being on my ship!" Cold growled. The whip cracked down again. "You will never again seek to befriend another being on my ship!" Another convulsion wracked her body.

  
Again and again, until the words became a litany she repeated to herself. Never again…never again…never again! Forty-seven times in all. Forty-seven times she vowed to never again befriend anything.

  


  
~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Atari jolted up in bed, shaking from grief and pain. Looking out the window, she saw that it was still dark, but dawn was only a moment or two away. Slowly, she got up and dressed in another of Gohan's outfits. When she was dressed, she crawled out her window and walked slowly off for the river to wash away the nightmare. Then she would go help her mother and train Goten and Trunks.

  
The days passed quickly for Atari, despite the nightmares that steadily grew worse and worse. Occasionally she had a peaceful night's sleep, but they were rare. Under her tutelage, Goten and Trunks learned to fly and became a force to be reckoned with as a team. 

  
She finally went shopping with Gohan, Goku, and Goten. Chi-Chi had been too busy. Secretly, Atari was glad. She was worried that her mother would want her dressed in skirts and such nonsense. With the boys there, she was able to by mostly gi-type clothes that were both casual and spar-worthy. It was how she liked them. Three long-sleeved black and navy blue spandex sparring suits, three baggy silver and three gray over-shirts, and three pairs of loose-fitting jeans, at Gohan's insistence. He had explained how everyone wore jeans at Orange Star High. Atari had explained how she didn't care what 'everyone else' wore, and bought a couple of baggy black pants just to spite him.

  
School started, for her, the next day. As Atari lay in bed after dinner, she reviewed her feelings towards this thrust into society. Anxiety, for sure. She was nervous about what kind of people would be there, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. High school would definitely try her endurance, if Gohan was anything to judge by. She noticed that he sometimes came home from school, threw his things down, and blasted over to Bulma's house to have an all-out fight with Vegeta.

  
Over the past week since she had been home, she had managed to ease back a tiny bit from the 'kill first as questions later' motto she had lived by for years. Now she was up to 'wait until given cause, then only maim beyond all recognition'. It was proving hard, but it was just another form of training, and Atari never shirked her training duties.

  
Finally sleep came and silenced her conscious thoughts. The dreams came, like always, carving fresh wounds upon her heart and soul. Blood covered her hands, arms, and body. The blood of the innocent. The blood of the ones she had slaughtered needlessly. And in the blood, the screaming began…

  
Atari woke up with a jerk, the accusations of the dead still ringing in her ears. She shuddered, feeling filthy, and hurried to get cleaned up. Like always, she was up before everyone and ready to go by the time breakfast was on the table. Her brother, however, was rushing around like mad, trying find his books. 

  
"Come on, Atari," Gohan yelled, zooming past the table, inhaling his food as he went. "I've still got to make my rounds as Saiyaman!"

  
Atari sighed, rolled her eyes, and shouldered her new book-bag. "Gohan, if you are going to be flying around in that outfit, don't expect me to fly beside you. I can find my own way just fine."

  
"Are you sure?" Gohan said anxiously as they took off. "I don't want to leave you just standing around."

  
Atari gave her brother a level glare. "I'll be fine, Gohan. Go…play super hero, or whatever. I still need to check into the office anyway."

  
Gohan nodded, flipped the button on his watch, and took off for the city. Atari followed at a safe distance until she reached an ally relatively close to the school, where she landed and walked casually inside and up to the office.

  
"Hello," the lady at the desk greeted her politely. "What can I do for you this morning?"

  
"My name is Son Atari," she said, her voice as filled with emotion as a stonewall. "I'm here to get my schedule for class."

  
"Oh! Okay. Hold on just a sec and I'll get Mr. Talini, the principal."

  
So Atari took a seat and began what was to be a very long wait.

  
Back in first period, Gohan kept nervously glancing at the door. _Where was she,_ he thought, worry gnawing at him. _I shouldn't have left her alone, no matter what she said! What if she got lost? Or hurt?_

  
Gohan couldn't help but grin to himself at the last part. Right. The only person who could possible harm his sister in any way was either his father or Vegeta. Maybe not even them. She sure was something amazing, he mused.

  
However, he cut his thoughts short and sat up straighter as the door opened and Atari walked in, confidence in every step, and looking vaguely annoyed. He sighed in relief. See, he told himself, nothing to worry about.

  
Atari walked up to the teacher and handed him the slip of paper wordlessly. She could feel her brother's agitation from out in the hallway, but now that she was here, it was gone. Which meant he had been worried. It wasn't like it was her fault or anything. The fool principal and empty-headed secretary had been late for school and couldn't find the right papers for her.

  
The teacher cleared his throat. "Class! This is Son Atari, our newest student. She has the second highest entry exam score in the history of this school, so you should all learn from her as much as you can."

  
Atari's sensitive ears picked up on a sullen murmur from a boy sitting a few seats down from Gohan.

  
"Great, another nerd. Maybe she'll get with geek-boy and we could have a smarty couple."

  
Atari headed up to the seat by Gohan, scowling at the fool. She noticed that Gohan was glaring rather hard at the unfortunate man and nudged him with her foot as she sat down. It didn't even faze him. Fortunately, a black-haired girl in pigtails spoke up in a lowered whisper.

  
"Sharpner, don't be such a moron," she hissed. "Didn't you hear him when he introduced her? _Son_ Atari. As in, _Son_ Gohan."

  
"She's sharp," Atari murmured softly to Gohan.

  
Gohan smiled a tiny bit, staring at the woman intently. "You have no idea, Atari. She's almost got it figured out that I'm…you-know-who."

  
Suddenly the woman turned to glare at Gohan. "I'm right, aren't I, Gohan? She's your sister."

  
Gohan grinned. "Wow, Videl, that's quick thinking. You're right, she is my sister." He turned slightly to include Atari in the introductions. "Atari, this is Videl Satan, that's Erasa, and over there," his voice got a little less friendly at this point, "is Sharpner. Guys, this is my sister Atari."

  
"Hi!" Erasa chirped. "I bet you know who Videl is since Gohan gave away her last name!"

  
Atari arched an eyebrow at the ditzy woman. "How am I supposed to know her, if I have only just been introduced?" She demanded, somewhat testily.

  
"The daughter of Hercule Satan?" Erasa prodded expectantly.

  
Atari turned to Gohan and formed a light mental link. _Am I supposed to know this name?_

  
Gohan laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. _Uh, yeah. He's kind of big around here. They think he's the one who killed Cell, so he's viewed as a sort of savior. Just play along, please?_

  
Atari sighed before sliding on a surprised and awed mask. "Really? Wow, that's really impressive. It must be a demanding position," Atari said, offhand.

  
Videl blinked at the new girl, surprised to hear a complete stranger hit the nail on the head, so to speak. Demanding was exactly what it was. Along with exasperating, infuriating, and downright lonely.

  
"Yeah, right," Videl scoffed, having the funny feeling she didn't fool the girl for a moment. She turned her gaze on Gohan. "You never told me you had a sister, Gohan."

  
Atari watched circumspectly as Gohan attempted to dodge question after question that Videl fired at him, a trace hint of a smile on her lips. It was like watching a sparring match, and there was no doubt that Videl was winning.

  
So, this was Gohan's mate. Not a bad choice, she thought to herself. Very strong, by human standards, maybe even the strongest. And there was no lacking of a backbone. Assertive, commanding, and a lot like their mother. Chi-Chi would either love her or hate her immediately.

  
The bell rang and she, Gohan, and his little group of friends headed off for physical education. She frowned as she noticed Sharpner trying to scoot closer to her as they sat, waiting for class to begin, on the bleachers. She waited, reminding herself that she had to wait for just cause, before killing him.

  
Finally, he got up and went to sit confidently beside her. Atari's scowl lessened as he put his arm around her and began to speak.

  
"Hey, Atari. I was thinking. How about you and I go get something to eat after school's out. Then maybe-"

  
Atari stared down at the book in her lap, the pages blurring red in her anger. She took a few deep breaths before answering the fool, so she would be certain she wouldn't end his pathetic life.

  
"If you do not remove your arm from around my shoulders," Atari stated with perfect calm, still taking notes as if nothing was wrong, "I will assume you have no further use for it and remove it from your body, do I make myself clear?"

  
Startled, Sharpner pulled back a little before laughing and scooting closer. "Funny, hon, but in case you couldn't tell by the muscles, I'm a trained fighter. I wouldn't even feel a thing."

  
Atari gripped her book so hard, her fingers began leaving imprints on it. Mutely she looked at Gohan, letting him see her eyes flicker green. The message was clear. Either he got Sharpner away from her, or she killed him very slowly.

  
"Lay off, Sharpner," Gohan said, his voice dangerously low. "_Now._"

  
"Oohh," he laughed. "I'm scared. Little geek boy is going to beat me up. Someone save me, please."

  
By now, Atari was almost shaking with the need to spill his blood over the walls and floor. No one disrespected her family. Especially not some weak-willed, puny little maggot that-

  
"Sharpner," Videl barked, coming over to stand in front of them. "Get away from her, or you'll be _my_ sparring partner for today."

  
Sharpener immediately jumped away from her, making his way back towards Erasa. Videl took his seat and Gohan sat on her other side, both waiting for her to get back under control. Videl, thinking she was upset by his come-ons, searched for something to say. Gohan, however, was worried that his sister might blow a fuse and kill all of them. She was way too close to the edge.

  
"Atari…" Gohan began hesitantly.

  
Atari gulped once, pushed back the memories of Cold's men, and straitened up, once again in complete control. "Yes, Gohan?"

  
"Uh…Never mind, I guess."

  
"He's all talk," Videl said finally, trying to sound comforting. "Sharpner really wouldn't try anything with you against your permission."

  
Atari looked over at Videl. "I'm not the one who should be frightened, Videl Satan," she said, her voice deceptively soft.

  
Videl swallowed hard, catching a glimpse of contained rage, and understood exactly what she was saying. Sharpner was the one who should be very afraid, because if he tried anything like that again, she would kill him.

  
Videl abruptly nodded. "Try not to make him suffer too much."

  
Atari smiled darkly. "Don't worry, Videl. He won't suffer for long at all."

  
Gohan decided to keep Sharpner as far away from his sister as possible, remembering what she had said once, when he had asked why she always went stiff when she was hugged. _"I don't like touching,"_ she'd said, shuddering as if plagued by demons. _"I don't like it at all."_

  
"Okay, class," the P.E. instructor called the together, smiling. "Today we are going to be going into our last day of the martial arts segment. And so, in light of this, I have prepared a tournament of sorts. It will be played just like it is in the big leagues, but since this class is only an hour and a half, we'll be using two rings. Now I want everyone to stretch out and get ready to battle!"

  
Atari smiled, amused. This was definitely going to be fun.

  
After they had finished stretching, the tournament began and Atari noticed that she wouldn't fight until the third round against…

  
Sharpener. 

  


  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

  
A/N: Read. Review. You know how it's done. Thanks for reading.

  


  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, this is a really strange chapter. This would be the humor part of my fic. Probably not too funny, since I normally don't write it, 'but it has to be done!' (No response to quote) And you call yourselves DBZ fans! (shakes head sadly.) 

  
Anyway, here you go!

  
**Secret Past**

  
**Chapter 4 **

  
Gohan, after reading the charts as well, pulled her over to the side, a deeply troubled look on his face.

  
"Atari, you will…control yourself, right?" Gohan pleaded. "I mean, I know Sharpener was being an ass, but you wont seriously injure him. Will you?"

  
Atari placed a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder. "Don't worry so much, brother. I'll do you one better than not permanently injuring the disgusting maggot. I'll beat him using only human level strength. Is that sufficient for you?"

  
"Really? You promise? That would be great!"

  
Atari chuckled. "Yes. I wouldn't want to scare your mate off so soon, now would I? Mother is so looking forward to grandchildren."

  
"Mate?" Gohan asked, looking confused. "I don't…understand."

  
"You shall see, Gohan," Atari said, moving closer to the ring as her turn came. "You shall see."

  
Stepping into the ring, she smirked at Sharpener and began the difficult process of lowering her ki and strength far enough. When, after a moment she was reasonable sure she was only a little stronger than Videl, she slid into a relaxed fighting stance and began making plans of his humiliating defeat.

  
Even as weak as she was, she was still miles beyond the blond buffoon. She waited, dodging attacks he threw at her, biding her time until it was just the right time to strike. To everyone else, it had to of looked like she was struggling to just stay out of his reach, but Atari really didn't mind. The weaker they thought her, the more surprised they would be when she defeated her enemy.

  
"Come on, Atari," Gohan muttered, glancing at his watch. "Just end it already."

  
Atari threw her brother a smirk, but complied with his wishes. Grabbing his fist as he threw yet another clumsy punch, she pulled him closer with a sharp yank, and brought her knee up into his stomach _hard_. She listened to the satisfying sound of Sharpener's breath stuttering as the wind was knocked out of him for a minute. Jumping up, she delivered a roundhouse that sent Sharpener out of the ring and into unconsciousness. 

  
"Wow," Gohan said, looking over at Sharpner. "You hit him pretty hard and he's only unconscious! Where did you learn that technique?"

  
"Cold," Atari said shortly.

  
"Cold?" Videl echoed, suddenly appearing beside them. "You've got to be burning up in her with that long-sleeved shirt on." 

  
Atari politely refrained from killing her brother's mate.

  
"You know some pretty good moves," Videl continued, looking a little impressed, despite herself. "Maybe we could spar sometime, although, I don't know if you're up to competing against me."

  
Atari shrugged. "We'll find out, now, wont we, Videl? You and I will be fighting in the semi-finals."

  
"Oh! That reminds me!" Gohan said, grabbing Atari's arm. "We need to talk."

  
Atari followed him, firmly slipping out of his grasp. "What?"

  
"We need to decide which one of us should win the match between us before we fight," Gohan said earnestly. "Because it could go on for days if we don't!"

  
Atari stared back towards the ring, where Videl stood over another student's prone body. "You are the one who wants to keep our genetics a secret, Gohan. What better way is there than to loose a fight?"

  
"Let you win?" Gohan asked blankly.

  
"No. You are up against Videl next, Gohan. You should throw the match with her and let me loose to her in the finals. Since I'm much better at hiding my strength, I can make it look more convincing."

  
"Oh, well, I guess you have a point," Gohan said reluctantly. Atari arched a brow at him, waiting for the rest. "But I don't know how to hide my power, so if she hits me…"

  
Atari closed her eyes for a moment, heaving a mental sigh. Why were things always so difficult? "Alright Gohan, I'll give you the information, but you had better be a quick learner, or it's useless."

  
Without waiting for his response, Atari pressed one hand to his chest, gathered her knowledge of hiding ki and power, and _shoved_ it into his body, making him stumble back a step. She waited as his breathing started to get harsh and sweat popped out on his forehead as he tried to grasp and store the information.

  
Then suddenly, Gohan's power level plummeted drastically and he seemed to loose muscle mass. Atari was slightly impressed. Not many people would be able to grasp it so quickly.

  
"Gohan!" Videl yelled from the ring. "It's your turn!"

  
Gohan took a quick breath and they started back. Atari watched as he tried to adjust to the new restrictions and decided to help him out one last time.

  
"Remember, Gohan," she said softly, "you can hit her as hard as you can now, and it wont hurt her much. Just don't raise your ki level, got it?"

  
Gohan nodded, grinning at her happily. Atari rolled her eyes and settled back to watch the match. Things went as she had expected. Gohan had lowered his ki too much, and was absolutely no match for Videl, but still managed to score on her at least twice before being knocked out of the ring. Gohan was grinning even more widely when he came over to join Atari, ecstatic that he had lost to Videl. His ki quickly shot up as he dropped his control over the new technique.

  
Atari looked over at Videl. "Do you want a quick rest before our match?" She asked indifferently. 

  
For a moment, it looked as if Videl would argue, but then she nodded before going to retrieve her water bottle. Atari settled back, leaning against the ring, and waited for her to recover. 

  
Everything was so very different, she reflected, watching the other people as they laughed and joked together. The only other time she had ever seen so many young people was when Cold had taken her to the slave barracks. It made her a little nervous, being around so many people, even if they _were_ inferior weaklings.

  
Ten minutes later, Videl was rested and their match began. After studying her moves during the other matches, Atari was able to pick at her weak spots without really overpowering her. But in the end, Atari let Videl knock her out of the ring with a vicious uppercut that would have broken anyone else's jaw.

  
"What a surprise," Sharpner laughed, coming over to them as class was dismissed. "Videl remains the strongest person in the school."

  
Atari continued to flip through her History book, brushing aside the fool's words. Once again they all had the next class together, and Atari was beginning to get tired of the blond boy's poorly hidden come-ons. However, dealing with Sharpner was worth it, seeing Gohan, one of _the_ strongest men in the known Universe, cringing and working himself steadily into a panic under the barrage of one human female's questions. 

  
"You're hiding something, _Gohan,_" Videl said for the fifteenth time that hour, leaning closer to him. "Both the Gold Fighter _and_ Saiyaman appeared the _same day_ you started school here. Don't you think that just a _little_ bit suspicious?"

  
"Come on, V," Sharpner guffawed. "Saiyaman and the Gold Fighter are super strong, super fast, and super_heroes_. This little geek couldn't even bench-press a hundred pounds, I'll bet!"

  
Atari glared at the maggot, but stopped when she noticed that it did seemed to get Videl off of Gohan's back for the moment. Perhaps the fool had his uses after all.

  
Finally, _finally,_ the bell rang for school to let out and Atari made a mad dash for the door. She was out of the torture chamber called School, down an alley, and airborne before Gohan even had time to stand up. In her desperation to get out of there, she hit Super Saiyan and was gone in a flash of gold.

  
Touching down outside her house, she threw her things down in her room, jumped into a fresh gi, and was halfway out the door before she remembered that she was supposed to train Goten and Trunks that day.

  
"GOTEN!!" Atari yelled from the front yard.

  
"What's all the yelling about?" Goten said, appearing beside her, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "I was taking a nap."

  
"I'm going over to the Briefs's house," Atari told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the air with her. "You can hang out with Trunks while I spar with Vegeta. I'm sure Mother wants you out of her hair for a little while, too."

  
Atari, still a Super Saiyan, didn't wait for an answer and she and Goten were gone and at Bulma's house before he could say a thing. She stormed up and into the house without knocking.

  
In the kitchen, Bulma, Trunks, Vegeta, and future Trunks were all sitting down, just finishing up a meal. Vegeta rose from his seat, seeing Atari still vibrating with the golden energy of Super.

  
Atari's eyes landed on Vegeta. "You. Me. Thirty minutes. Gravity chamber." She looked down at little Trunks. "Well? You said you wanted to train."

  
Mirai Trunks, seeing that Atari wasn't in the best of moods, cleared his throat hesitantly. "If you want to spar with Father, I could train with them. For a little while. If you want."

  
Atari's only response was a growl as she let go of Goten's arm and glared fiercely at Vegeta until he led the way to the G.R., leaving the others to stare after her in wonder. That is, until Goten spoke up.

  
"This was Sister's fist day of public school," Goten piped. "Gohan sort of did the same thing."

  
In the training room, Atari was stretching furiously, eager to get a move on with the spar. Vegeta only stood in the center of the room, his arms crossed and eyes closed in brief meditation. After a few minutes of silence, as Atari was finishing her warm-up, he finally spoke up.

  
"What the hell was going on over at that pathetic school?" Vegeta demanded, sliding into a fighting stance when Atari stepped up to him. "Kakarotto was over here jabbering about his two brats' kis fluctuating wildly. First high, then so low he had to work to find them. Then up and down again. The fool would not stop pestering me!"

  
Atari launch herself at him with a growl, and the two of them began the battle. They flickered in and out of sight too fast for most people to follow, even Mirai Trunks, had he been watching. Punches flew, kicks landed, and ki blasts ricocheted off of the walls.

  
Panting, Atari and Vegeta took a leap away from each other, panting heavily. The gravity was up to three hundred and twenty-five times Earth's normal gravity, and they were starting to feel the burn.

  
"Tournament…" Atari panted. "At school. Had to…lower energy levels…so we didn't accidentally kill the pathetic weaklings."

  
Vegeta smirked. "And the building is still standing?"

  
"Gohan and I threw the fights," Atari grumbled, dropping out of Super Saiyan and landing on the floor with a soft tap. She threw Vegeta an evil grin. "After all, we wouldn't want to frighten away his mate. Would we?"

  
Vegeta threw his head back and laughed as they left the room. "So, the brat's finally Choosing. What kind of weakling is she?" 

  
Atari gave a shrug. "Among the humans she's the strongest. Under the right training, she _might_ become a good warm up for the chibis. Definitely stronger than Krillien, Yamcha, and the others."

  
"Well," Vegeta sounded satisfied. "At least that harpy mother of yours will be appeased by this."

  
"You never know, Vegeta," Atari chuckled. "Videl is strong-willed, arrogant, and thick-skulled. Mother will either love her or hate her. Either way, it is bound to be entertaining."

  
"You should invite the wench over here," Vegeta said. "I'm sure the Woman will find some excuse to throw one of her hideous get-togethers."

  
"What is this I hear about a party?" Bulma perked up at the table as they walked in. "And _Vegeta_ suggesting one, no less."

  
"He just wants to be around when Videl and Gohan find out that they're bonding," Atari said casually. "If you don't-"

  
"Gohan's bonding!!" Bulma cried, clasping her hands in front of her. "This is wonderful! Of _course_ we'll have a party. After all, Gohan's future wife _must_ know what she's getting into! Oh, I have to call Tien and Krillien and Yamcha-"

  
"That baka is not setting foot on this property!" Vegeta growled, his eyes flashing. "I thought I had already explained this!"

  
Bulma put her fists on her hips, glaring the Saiyan Prince down. "Yamcha _happens_ to be one of my best friends, Vegeta! I'm not going to leave him out of this just because you're jealous of our past!"

  
Atari, seeing that they had obviously forgotten about her, sat down in a chair to enjoy the show. It was actually very amusing.

  
"The Prince of all Saiyans does not get _jealous,_ Woman!" Vegeta yelled, his face turning red with anger. "I merely find that weakling's presence offensive! He doesn't know his place! He can't hold his liquor very well, either!"

  
Bulma looked just about ready to boil over. "_That was one time, Vegeta! We had just broken up, and you have NO RIGHT TO JUDGE!!_"

  
Vegeta suddenly materialized before Bulma, grabbing her arm tightly and pulling her close. "You are my mate! _No_ man is allowed to touch you! Yet you allow this…this fourth-class imbecile to practically-"

  
"It's called _affection,_ Vegeta!" Bulma screeched. "We Earthlings use it to show that we _care_ for each other. That we enjoy the other's _company_! You might try to learn the _concept_!"

  
Vegeta pushed away from his mate with a frustrated growl. "Fine! Invite the fool! But mark me on this, Woman. If he so much as _looks_ like he's going to try something, I'll blast him into the next Dimension!" 

  
Bulma made a noise startlingly like a growl. "Your such an ass, Vegeta!"

  
When the two said nothing more, only continued to glare heatedly at each other, Atari snorted softly.

  
"Is this where I start clapping?" She drawled. "Or is there an Act Two?"

  
Vegeta growled loudly at Atari before stalking from the room, assumedly to go back into the GR. Bulma sat down at the table with a long-suffering sigh and laid her head down in her arms.

  
Mirai Trunks poked his head in through the door cautiously. "Is it safe to come in now?" He asked worriedly.

  
Bulma lifted her head. "Huh? Oh, yes Trunks. Vegeta's gone back into the GR."

  
Atari smirked, crossing her arms as she stared down at Bulma. "You know, he _is_ right. Saiyan's are said to be particularly possessive of their Chosen Mates." She gave the woman a significant look. "That possessive nature is amplified by a hundred times during pregnancy."

  
Bulma blushed, quickly hiding her head. "Don't I know it," she managed to sound aggrieved. "Vegeta was so damned annoying when I was pregnant with Trunks."

  
Mirai Trunks blushed slightly himself before looking to Atari. "The boys are outside." He rubbed his forehead, sliding down to sit next to his mother. "They can almost beat me now," he said, sounding as though he were announcing Cell's return. 

  
Atari smirked even more widely. "Good. Maybe now they will be good sparring partners."

  
She nodded polite good-byes to the two and left for home. 

  
And so it continued as such for about a week. Atari got up, went to school with Gohan, came home, dropped off her things, went to have an all-out with Vegeta, watch a little after-spar entertainment, and go home to eat dinner, do homework, and have it out with her father, Gohan, and Goten. 

  
Things were progressing well for Atari. She was gradually adjusting to her family's closeness, and at school, she made sure Gohan and Videl were staying on good terms with each other. It had even gotten far enough that Gohan had taught Videl to fly and was talking about letting her meet his friends.

  
The night of the full moon grew steadily closer.

  
Complying with Bulma's wishes, Atari didn't tell Gohan about the surprise party they were throwing for him and his 'mate'. As far as the young demi-Saiyan knew, he was only bringing Videl over to meet Bulma, Trunks, and, if unavoidable, Vegeta. Gohan thought it was more than plenty to start Videl off with. Atari, however, thought it would be best to push the Earthling straight into the deep end and see how well she could swim. 

  
The party was scheduled five days before the night of the full moon.

  
Gohan wiped his brow for the thousandth time in the last hour. 

  
"_Whew,_" he panted, leaning back in Bulma's chair. "Do you have the heat on, Bulma?"

  
Atari, leaning against the wall beside Vegeta, snickered. The Saiyan Prince wiped at his mouth hard to keep from imitating her. They all sat around the living room, waiting on Videl, who was running just a little bit late. Goku and ChiChi had claimed the couch the moment they walked in, and sat there looking like misbehaving children. The chibi-Saiyans were upstairs 'playing', since Trunks had made the declaration that this was going to be a boring adult party. Mirai Trunks, unsurprisingly, had opted on going with them, not wanting to be around when Gohan figured out his mother's plan.

  
Suddenly, Gohan's head jerked up towards the door, and a predatory gleam shone in his eyes. "Videl," he growled. Then he seemed to shake himself and grinned widely as the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!"

  
Atari glanced up at the clock on the wall, snickering once more before slipping on the polite mask. Good, she thought. Videl will have just enough time to be introduced to everyone and get comfortable before tonight's fun began.

  
"Hey guys," Gohan said, leading Videl back into the room. "This is Videl. Videl, I'm sure you remember Atari, Mom, and Dad. That's Bulma, and…over there is her ma-husband Vegeta."

  
For a moment, Atari's mask almost slipped as Gohan quickly covered up the 'mate' part. It seemed as though his Saiyan heritage was getting the better of him. Excellent.

  
"Hello," Videl greeted them politely, looking vaguely nervous.

  
Gohan led her to the other couch and they sat down. Bulma, the master at making people comfortable, struck up casual conversations with the young woman, perched on the edge of the seat Vegeta had taken. Atari remained leaning against the wall, smiling and joining in the conversation when it intrigued her.

  
Just as she had predicted, the doorbell rang just as Videl lost the last bit of nervous tension. Atari shifted from her place by the wall, having claimed this particular spot because she could see just far enough down the hall to glimpse the front door and not have it look suspicious.

  
"Yamcha!" She heard Bulma greet the first guest. "What a pleasant surprise! Come on in."

  
Atari turned back and, seeing the way Gohan's shoulder's tensed in the slightest degree, knew he had heard the blue-haired genius. Then Bulma was leading the man into the room with poorly disguised excitement. Atari snickered silently as she watched Videl's jaw drop an inch.

  
"Hey, guys!" Yamcha grinned. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop in to say hi to Bulma." His eyes lighted on Videl. "Oh, wow! You must be Videl! Gohan talks about you all the time!"

  
Videl turned to Gohan. "You know the number one baseball star, Gohan?"

  
Gohan looked innocently confused. "Who?"

  
Videl made a sort of frustrated, strangling sound. "The Bandit Yamcha!"

  
Gohan turned back to Yamcha. "You didn't tell me you had taken up baseball again, Yamcha!"

  
"Yeah, well…" Yamcha scratched his head sheepishly, a trait he must have picked up from Goku over the years. "Puar says I have to pay the bill _somehow_, and since I already had a contract…" He shrugged, sitting down in the chair beside Bulma, not hearing Vegeta's low growling. 

  
Once again, easy conversation filled the room, and Videl was once again adjusting when… _Diiiinnnnnggggg Doooonnnnngggg._

  
Bulma jumped up again. "I'll get it!" She chirped.

  
Atari glanced towards the door, then quickly away before she started to crack up. It appeared that they had all met outside and arrived together. They being: Tien, Launch, Piccolo, Krillien, 18, and Master Roshi.

  
"Wow," Bulma said with false sincerity as she led the group of people in. "It seems just everyone is dropping by tonight!"

  
Gohan turned very slowly to look at the newcomers. Atari closed her eyes to better grab control over herself, and when she opened them, she found herself looking into Gohan's accusing black eyes. Black eyes that were slowly flickering green.

  
"Videl…" Gohan growled slowly, looking murder at everyone but his sensei. "These are more of my friends. This is Krillien and his wife 18. Tien and his wife Launch. Piccolo, my sensei. And Master Roshi."

  
"_The_ Master Roshi?" Videl demanded incredulously. "The Turtle Hermit?"

  
"Right in one!" Master Roshi cackled, sliding up next to Videl. "My, what a hottie you are!"

  
Gohan was growling audibly now. "Go…away," he commanded, his hair beginning to wave in a non-existent breeze.

  
Roshi laughed fearfully, backing off immediately. "I meant that in the nicest way possible, of course, Gohan! Only the best for you, eh? Hehehe."

  
"I see," Piccolo stated, looking from Gohan, to Videl, to Bulma, and then to Atari. "Gohan, I think you've been-_umnphh_."

  
Atari glared at Piccolo, pulling her mind back for another psychic punch to the gut if he tried to say anything again to warn her brother. The Namekian remained silent. 

  
"Are you okay, Piccolo?" Gohan asked worriedly.

  
"Fine," Piccolo said shortly, going to a corner of the room to meditate.

  
"If you say so…" Gohan replied doubtfully. 

  
"Hey, Gohan," Krillien said slyly. "How long has Videl been your _girlfriend_?"

  
"She's not my girlfriend, Krillien." Gohan told the short man patiently. "You know I would have brought her over sooner if we were going out."

  
"So you just started going out," Krillien needled the boy.

  
"What?! No! We aren't going out at all!" Gohan said a bit impatiently.

  
"But you just said-"

  
"GRANDCHILDREN!!!" ChiChi shouted suddenly and without any given cause.

  
Gohan groaned, burying his head in his hands. "Now you've done it, Krillien."

  
"Sorry, dude," Krillien said, edging away from both couples now that he noticed Gohan's barely contained murderous rage. "Really, I am. I get it. Just calm-"

  
"What's going on here?" Dende asked, suddenly appearing in the room. "I sensed everyone's kis gathered and Gohan's rising. Is there trouble?"

  
Atari chuckled softly. "No, Dende. We're just having an _unplanned_ get-together so Gohan's…friend Videl can meet the guys."

  
"Oh." Dende turned back to Videl and smiled at her warmly. "Hello, Videl. I'm Dende, current Guardian of Earth."

  
"Current?" Videl asked weakly.

  
Dende laughed. "Yeah. Being a kami and having these guys as friends, you get killed off and or absorbed into another person rather easily. Personally, I think King Yemma should start putting 'default personal risks' down as a job hazard!"

  
"Oh, come on, Dende!" Gohan half-laughed, a bit of his good mood restored. "There was only Kami, and technically, he's still around!"

  
Dende nodded. "Alright, maybe it would be a bit drastic. Well, I'll see you guys around!" 

  
Mercifully, Dende chose to use the door, and left with a soft click of the front door shutting. Atari smirked, and watched as the young Human dealt with handling all of this new information. Gohan was most definitely not the person she had thought he was.

  
All in all, the evening progressed with few bumps. Vegeta, under threat of no bed, no food, and the disabling of the GR, was on his very best behavior. Which, for him, meant insulting only half of the people there. 

  
The real fun didn't start until Bulma had excused herself to go into the kitchen and prepare some drinks. After waiting a carefully calculated moment, Yamcha said he would help, and hurried past Vegeta. A few minutes later, there was a startled, feminine yelp, the sharp sound of a hand against a cheek, and the furious sounds of Bulma telling Yamcha off.

  
Vegeta was out of his chair and into the kitchen before Atari could even think of his reaction. Atari settled back, a slight grin of her face, as they all listened in silence to the sounds of Vegeta kicking Yamcha out of the house. Glass shattered, and there was the sound of Vegeta roaring his victory as Atari heard Yamcha taking off for the nearest exit, limping slightly.

  
Bulma and Vegeta re-entered the room, with Vegeta's hand possessively on the small of her back. As Bulma passed a drink to Atari, she winked at the young woman, making Atari hurriedly gulp down the lemonade to keep from laughing.

  
"Where did Yamcha go?" Videl asked when, after ten minutes, the famed baseball player didn't return.

  
Beside her, Gohan growled. "If the fool's smart, the furthest country away from Vegeta," he smirked.

  
"What!" Videl glared at Gohan. "That's a mean thing to say, Gohan."

  
Gohan only looked at her for a moment before replying. "Yamcha was trying to hit on Bulma," he explained patiently. "Bulma is Vegeta's…wife. Vegeta is…very possessive of his…wife." Gohan grinned ferally. "We are all possessive of our…wives. I think you should remember that, Master Roshi."

  
The old pervert froze in the act of trying to scoot closer to Videl without Gohan noticing. The demi-Saiyan didn't even look away from Videl, but Roshi knew better than to try _this_ young man's finite patience. He slid back to his normal seat quickly.

  
"You're acting really weird, Gohan," Videl accused, sliding away from him a little. "What's wrong with you?"

  
Atari chuckled. "I think you should come clean now, Brother. Don't you?"

  
Gohan growled up at Atari, then sighed, leaning back away from Videl and hung his head. "Yeah. Our cover's pretty much blown anyway."

  
"Cover?" Videl asked suspiciously.

  
Gohan sat up strait, looking completely back to normal, much to Videl's relief. "Videl, this is going to be very hard for you to accept, but I swear to you, everything I say is true, okay? You trust me, don't you?"

  
Videl nodded. "Of course I do, Gohan."

  
"Good. Then it's like this. One day, when I was really little, a man landed on our planet who called himself Radditz, my uncle…" Gohan began.

  
Fifteen minutes later, he wrapped it up. "And a few weeks ago, Atari came back and everything went back to normal. Well, as normal as things can be with a house full of demi-Saiyans!"

  
Videl just sat there staring at Gohan for a few minutes. "You're…joking."

  
Gohan shook his head. "I told you it was true, remember? And it also explains why Vegeta's so overprotective of Bulma, and why Dad's overprotective of Mom. Saiyans choose one mate, and they stay with that person for the rest of their life."

  
"Not to mention why you haven't been letting anyone of the male persuasion get near Videl these last few days," Atari finished. "Saiyans respond to the cycles of the moon, Videl. And, as it so happens, a full moon is just days away."

  
Videl swallowed nervously. "What happens on the full moon?"

  
Atari flashed her a smile. "Well…if they are of Age, they will Hunt for a Mate. Gohan, evidently, has just recently come of Age. And guess who he's chosen to Hunt?"

  
"M-Me?" Videl asked shakily.

  
Atari nodded once. "Precisely."

  
"Cut it out, Atari," Gohan growled. "You're freaking her out."

  
"I'm not freaked out!" Videl objected immediately. "It's just…we haven't even been out on a date, yet."

  
Gohan perked up. "Does that mean you…_want_ to go out with me?"

  
Videl blushed a deep red and studied the carpet intently as she nodded. Gohan cheered and scooted closer to Videl.

  
"Well," Vegeta scoffed, standing up and pulling Bulma with him. "The brat handled the news surprisingly well. Now all she has to do is survive the Hunt!"

  
"It's not as bad as Vegeta makes it sound," Bulma hastened to reassure Videl. "It's actually a lot of fun!" She giggled as Vegeta pulled her from the room. "'Night everyone!"

  
Krillien and 18 stood. "It was nice meeting you, Videl!" Krillien said. "I guess we'll see you at the next reunion! Or your wedding, whichever comes first, right Gohan!"

  
Master Roshi, Tien, Lunch, and Piccolo all left silently, eager to get out of the house. Reluctantly, Goku and Chi-Chi rose from the couch and the five of them headed outside.

  
"Alright," Gohan said with exaggerated tolerance, looking hard at Atari. "Who did this? It was _supposed_ to be a nice, quiet evening!"

  
Atari gave her brother a skeptical look. "Since when do things ever go as planned?" She asked. "At least Goten, and the Trunkses didn't do anything, right?"

  
"_I'll get you for that, Goten!!_" Trunks yelled at the top of his lungs from inside. "_You, too, Trunks!!_"

  
Atari turned to watch, delighted that she had spoken too soon. After a moment, Goten and Mirai Trunks came barreling out of the house, with a Super Saiyan Trunks right behind them, firing ki blasts furiously.

  
Goten, seeing his dad, changed directions and hid directly behind him, hoping that he would protect him from the wrath of Trunks. Mirai, however, didn't have that option, and took to the air to dodge the attacks more easily.

  
Videl was looking back and forth between the two purple-haired demi-Saiyans, her eyes bulging slight. "G-Gohan…?" She asked faintly.

  
Gohan hung his head. "Yeah, Videl?"

  
"I don't want to know."

  
Gohan perked up drastically. "Really?! Lets go before anything else happens, okay?"

  
Atari smirked after the retreating couple and followed her parents home. She watched silently as they ran inside, completely oblivious to her, and curled a lip at their backs. 

  
Disgusting, she thought, taking off for the mountains for the night. How people could possibly view mating as an enjoyable act was far beyond her. Maybe she could find the Namek and have a little late-night spar…

  
"Looking for me?"

  
Atari froze in the air and turned, gathering energy for an attack before the voice registered. Upon seeing Piccolo, she released the ki she had gathered, but stayed crouched in a fighting stance.

  
"Yeah," Atari smirked. "I'm looking for a good spar. Know anyone who'd be interested?"

  
"What about your normal partners?"

  
"They're holding a…different kind of sparring match."

  
Piccolo shuddered slightly. "I see. Okay, sure. You and me."

  
Atari's eyes sparkled in anticipation. "Excellent," she said, just before she disappeared.

  
For the next eleven hours, they traded blows. Atari, out of sheer perversity, forced herself to stay in her normal form to fight Piccolo, not allowing herself to ascend to Super Saiyan. It made everything so much harder, and the Namek scored on her a lot more than he would have, but it also made her faster. Stronger. She could already feel her body growing stronger and her muscles gaining a new depth.

  
Piccolo knocked her back with a particularly powerful punch to her right cheek, using the pause to gather his energy in a strong wave. 

  
"_HA!_" Piccolo yelled, releasing the blast in a wave of electricity and unbridled energy.

  
Atari vanished just as the blast was about to hit her, letting it zoom harmlessly up into the atmosphere. She hovered a few feet above Piccolo, smirking. 

  
"My turn," she said.

  
After a quick moment's thought, she decided to use an old attack she had learned from that one man, before she had killed him. Now…what had been his name? Pikauhn, or something of the sort, wasn't it? 

  
Regardless of her thoughts, her body was moving, her arms dipping and twisting, gathering the invisible power that was ki, using the hypnotic movements to distract Piccolo for a moment. When she had gathered enough, Atari paused, held her hands out directly in front of her, and released the force with a shout.

  
"_Thunder Claw!_" Atari yelled, watching as the lightening arched towards the Namekian, then shift into a blaze of fire. (A/N: Complete rip-off, I know. I just couldn't resist!)

  
Piccolo, caught completely off guard by this new attack, took the blast full on. It knocked him backwards through a few mountains, where he lay for a few minutes, trying to figure out how she had done that.

  
"I learned it from a green guy out in space," Atari offered, suddenly appearing beside him, panting slightly. "It works pretty well, but takes too long to gather the energy. Best to do it as a final attack."

  
Piccolo grunted, and they started leisurely back towards her house. 

  
"Don't you need to sleep?" He questioned after glancing over and seeing her still alert, even after almost half a day of non-stop fighting. Piccolo himself was only just able to keep his body in the air.

  
Atari glanced up at the rising sun. "No."

  
"How about breakfast?" Piccolo asked. "You Saiyans are like insatiable eating machines."

  
"I can go without food for months," Atari murmured. "If I had to. I…"

  
"ATARI!!!!"

  
Atari winced slightly as her mother's shrill voice rang out through the mountains. She nodded a curt good bye to Piccolo and took off quickly, not wanting to keep her mother waiting too long. After all, the longer ChiChi waited, the more yelling she would do. And that was never a good thing.

  
"Yes, Mother?" Atari asked, landing silently behind the woman.

  
"Where have you been?" ChiChi demanded, rounding on her daughter, a spatula gripped firmly in her hand. "When _Gohan_ came home last night, _you_ weren't in your bed! Did you even come in _at all_?"

  
"No." Atari said.

  
Chi-Chi waited for her to continue. To offer an explanation for her actions. Atari said nothing more, and stood there before the woman with no hint of an expression. 

  
"Do you mind telling me why you didn't see fit to come home?" Chi-Chi demanded, crossing her arms and tapping a foot expectantly.

  
"You and Father were having sex," Atari said bluntly. "I didn't want to listen to it, so I left to find Piccolo and spar with him. I lost track of time, and came back when you called."

  
Her mother turned six distinct shades of red at hearing her daughter speak so bluntly. Her mouth worked soundlessly for a good three minutes before Chi-Chi seemed to collect herself.

  
"Yes, well." She shook her head. "You'll have to hurry if you want to get to school on time, Atari. I'm making breakfast now, so you can get cleaned up and we can talk about this some other time."

  
Atari nodded, relieved at her reprieve, and hurried away. Ten minutes later, both she and Gohan were sitting down for a nice breakfast. For once, her brother had woken up on time and was ready to go in record time. Atari suspected it had more to do with Videl than getting an early start on his silly little 'superhero' kick. They thanked their mother, said bye to Goten, and left for another day of school.

  
Half way there, Atari and Gohan split ways, like always, and she continued on to the school. The day progressed with little interruptions or problems. At first, there was a little issue with Sharpener trying to get too close to Videl, and Atari had to hold her brother back to keep him from brutally disemboweling the young weakling. But beyond that, no one bothered Videl anymore. Or Gohan and Atari. Atari was grateful. Gohan was a bit disappointed.

  
They were sitting through a particularly boring lecture on Trigonometry when Atari felt her mother's ki signature spike up sharply. She sat up straighter, concentrating, but relaxed marginally when it went back down after a second. But still…just to be cautious, Atari combed the area around her home, searching for any other ki. She could sense Goten not far from his mother, his ki fluctuating wildly. That wasn't too odd. Goten was always really hyper.

  
What _did_ concern her was the distinct _lack_ of ki around her home. It was like a giant, black void. Atari frowned, knowing she had felt that somewhere before… Her eyes widened when she remembered.

  
"It _couldn't_ be," she murmured to herself.

  


  
~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

  
A/N: Now do you see what I meant? I needed to get Videl adjusted, and there really isn't any way to do that that isn't funny. (*Glances back over work*) Or pathetic. ^.^ Anywho, it's review time! Please? 

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	5. Chapter 4

  
A/N: Okay, I wasn't going to write this, but I got really bored and since this story was born of boredom, I decided another chapter wouldn't hurt anything.

  
**DejaVu,** you're in luck. Well, not really, seeing as how I don't reveal his identity in _this_ chapter. But I _am_ working on the one that _does_. Want to take another stab at it? ^.^

  


** Secret Past**

  
**Chapter 5**

  
Gohan glanced at Atari worriedly. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

  
"Search for any strange ki patterns by the house," Atari ordered in a whisper.

  
Confused, Gohan shrugged and stretched out his senses. After a moment, he looked back at his sister, even more puzzled. "I don't feel any. Why?"

  
"That is exactly my point," Atari hissed. "I don't feel _anything_. Not even the animals. It's like a black hole."

  
Gohan searched again, and his eyes widened. "You're right. But how…?"

  
"I only know of one group that could do something like that," Atari said. "They're…ah, old friends of mine. But, how could they have tracked me here?"

  
"Who are they?"

  
Atari was about to answer when the intercom screeched to life, making her and Gohan wince painfully. 

  
"Ahem. Will Son Atari and Son Gohan please report to the Office for a check out? Son Atari and Son Gohan to the Office to check out, please." The voice crackled in a barely decipherable tone.

  
Atari and Gohan sat stunned. Checked out? Them? Slowly they started gathering their things and left the room. What was going on, Atari wondered. Chi-Chi wouldn't check them out of school if they had contracted a high contagious, highly deadly disease and were supposed to be quarantined. 

  
Gohan entered the Office first, looking at the sniveling attendant in concern. "Um…hello? I'm Gohan, and this is Atari. You called us up here to be checked out?"

  
"Y-Yes!" The woman cried. She pointed a shaky finger to the door leading outside. "H-He's w-waiting out th-there! Please go!"

  
Atari scowled at the woman, and left the school building with Gohan right behind her. She took two steps out of the building before she noticed the large, dark-skinned man leaning against a nearby tree, his eyes closed in meditation. His clothes were a bit worn in, but the brown leather vest and the black pants were in good shape. 

  
Her eyes widened in shock as Atari was forced to believe what she was seeing. It was almost impossible for her to grasp, but when the large man opened his eyes and looked at her with somber respect, she couldn't help but smile.

  
"Lady Atari," the man greeted her, bringing his right fist to his chest and bowing deeply. He turned to Gohan. "My lord," he rumbled, bowing again.

  
"Sabre," Atari greeted him with a warmth that Gohan hadn't heard her use outside the family. What surprised him more was when she went over to him, arms opened wide for an embrace.

  
Atari was positively ecstatic at seeing her mentor, and gifted him with a smile once she pulled back. "What in all the Galaxies are you doing here? I thought you were commanding the Doom Squad."

  
"Yes, Lady Atari, I am." Sabre said, still respectful. "However, there was a…minor argument aboard when the crew decided they wanted to find you."

  
"Oh." Atari smirked. "I wonder who instigated _that_?" She said sarcastically. "Sounds like the work of Scamp."

  
Sabre gave a long-suffering sigh. "Lady, if he wasn't one of your friends, I would have destroyed him long ago."

  
Atari chuckled. "Poor Sabre."

  
"I don't mean to interrupt," Gohan said carefully. "But, Atari, who is he?"

  
"I forgot! Sorry, Gohan. This is my mentor Sabre of the DarkPanther Clan." Atari introduced. 

  
"He's the one who taught you all those moves?" Gohan said in awe. 

  
Atari laughed slightly. "Sort of. Sabre helped me refine what I already knew into my own technique instead of hundreds of miss-matched ones."

  
"Hey," Gohan thought suddenly. "Are you the one who frightened that attendant inside so badly?"

  
Sabre cleared his throat, studiously ignoring the question. "Lady, we should be getting back to your home. Your mother, the Lady Chi-Chi, was quite adamant…" He trailed off when he caught the look she was giving him.

  
"Sabre," Atari said with exaggerated patience. 

  
"I swear, Lady, all I did was ask the blasted woman to call you up there so you and your brother could leave with me," Sabre explained hurriedly. "Just as your mother commanded. When she told me only family members could check students out, and made some derogatory comments about how we couldn't possibly be related, I…I threatened to end her existence in this Dimension and blast the school itself into atomic bits." He hung his head, clearly waiting for a reprimand. 

  
Atari scowled deeply at the school behind them, the tip of her tail twitching around her waist. "What kind of…comments did she make, Sabre?" Atari asked softly, a clear sign that she was about to destroy something.

  
Gohan, seeing his sister getting pretty mad, thought it best to intervene. "Atari. Um…Mother _did_ send Mr. Sabre to get us. She won't like us being late."

  
Reluctantly Atari turned away from her pleasant thoughts of killing the unfortunate woman. Gohan was right. Besides, she could track down the offensive weakling another time.

  
"Especially if she found out we were delayed by my killing someone," Atari agreed. She nodded to Sabre. "Lets get out of here."

  
The giant man stepped forward, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. When Gohan looked up at him questioningly, he said, "This way is faster." And then they vanished.

  
Atari took a single step away from him as they immediately landed in front of their house, before she was tackled by Goten. She braced herself and looked down at the kid curious at the way he seemed to be clinging to her pants. She was instantly reminded of how he had gripped her mother's skirt shyly when they had first met. Atari's face softened and she put a reassuring hand on top of his head.

  
Atari looked around and had to draw deep into her training from Cold not to burst out laughing. Directly in front of the house, Chi-Chi had managed to produce two long wooden tables, and in the seats sat the crew of Doom, the most notorious ship in the known Universe. Every last one of them were murderers, thieves, assassins, and the general Bad Asses of the Galaxies. And all were sitting demurely at the tables, drinking tea and making polite conversation with her mother and father. It was almost too much to keep a straight face, but then, her mother could be very…persuasive when she wanted.

  
"_There_ you are!" ChiChi said, storming over to them. "What took you so long?"

  
Atari glanced to Gohan, who looked a bit desperately at Sabre, only to find the man looking intently at the ground.

  
"It would have been rude of me not to introduce Sabre and Gohan," Atari said with a stroke of inspiration, knowing how much her mother valued good manners. "So I did, and we…ah, got lost in conversation for a moment."

  
Chi-Chi smiled fondly at her daughter. "I have raised such a _considerate_ daughter!" There was a snicker from one of the tables, instantly silenced when Chi-Chi turned to glare at them. Satisfied, she grabbed Atari and hauled her over to stand before the men and women. "Atari, dear, you have company," she said unnecessarily. 

  
Atari glanced warily at her mother, waiting for a moment before she responded. "I see that, Mother," she replied slowly.

  
"And with so many young, handsome men!" She continued gleefully, turning to her daughter. "Which one of them is yours?"

  
There came a sound of choked laughter from the mass, and Atari closed her eyes, knowing she would never live this down. That noise seemed to set everyone off, and soon a group of thirteen grown, battle-hardened space pirates were rolling on the floor in mirth.

  
"We've been over this, Mother," Atari said through gritted teeth. "I'm not taking a mate."

  
"How disappointing," a smooth, velvet soft voice drawled, the only one not laughing.

  
Atari stiffened and crossed her arms as she turned to glare at the man leaning casually against a table. 

  
"Darean," Atari said coldly, glaring daggers at him.

  
The man bowed mockingly, looking just as she remembered him. Tall, lean, but with evident muscles that rippled sensuously just beneath the thick black fur that covered his arms and disappeared under his tight black leather vest that hung open, revealing more fur. Black leather pants and standard issued weighted shoes completed the look he had kept since she had first met him so many years ago. 

  
His hair was the only thing she could find too changed. Instead of the long, chaotic black spikes that used to go everywhere, it was all trimmed short in front, so it was able to stand directly up, and the long part of it was pulled back away from his face. (A/N: Think of SS 4 Gohan, if you've seen the pictures. And yes, I know he really doesn't ascend that far.) His yellow-orange eyes were slitted like a cat's, and even more cold and distant than before. A hard, unforgiving face was drawn in a slight sneer as he mocked her.

  
"No hello kisses?" Darean purred, his black tail flicking lazily from side to side as he pretended to pout.

  
"I will give you ten seconds to get off my property," Atari growled, taking an angry step towards him. "If you are not gone by then, traitor, I'll make you beg for mercy, family or no."

  
"Atari!" Chi-Chi admonished. "That is no way to talk to a guest!"

  
Atari swallowed her growls and made a supreme effort to lower her rising ki. Darean chuckled, amused at seeing her trying so hard to obey her parent.

  
"What an obedient child you are, Atari," he laughed softly.

  
"And you would know more about obedience than I would," Atari snapped, her eyes glinting maliciously. "By the way, how _is_ your master Cooler?"

  
Darean bared his teeth at her, looking about ready to tear her apart. There was a low chuckle, and a woman detached herself from the group of avid onlookers that had settled down to enjoy the show.

  
"You always did go straight for the gut," she laughed.

  
Atari turned to the woman in surprise and smiled widely, embracing her tightly. "Chitara. It's so good to see you."

  
The woman hooked arms with Atari. "I know. It seems like forever, doesn't it?" She glanced over at the still furious Darean. "Sorry about the _unwanted_ company, hon. He sort of came with the deal."

  
"What deal?" Atari asked, leading her back to a table, purposefully turning her back on Darean.

  
"The deal that got us _here_!" squeaked a small voice.

  
Atari glanced down at the young cub, smiling slightly. "Really? And here I thought you were the mastermind of this little surprise visit, Scamp."

  
The six-year-old boy with overlaid wolf features leapt up onto her back, laughing. "Not me! I only convinced Uncle Sabre to navigate."

  
Atari snickered at the 'uncle' part, sobering instantly with the look Sabre gave her. "I see."

  
"Darean was the one who knew where you were!" Scamp continued, blissfully unaware of the glare Darean was sending to him. If he had been, the kid most likely would be racing for the ship and jettisoning himself into space. "So we hired him on and he showed us the way! And now we can all go back home!"

  
Atari glanced at Chitara, gently prying the cub off of her. "Is that why you came, Chitara?"

  
The cheetah-woman nodded. "We didn't know you had managed to find your own family," she said by way of apology.

  
"That isn't the only reason we came," Proth, a lion-man, said grimly, coming up to lay his cheek fondly on her head. "But it can all wait until everyone is introduced and your family is no longer as confused as they look."

  
Atari blinked, looking sheepishly at her two brothers and parents, who all stood to the side, wide-eyed and hopelessly lost. 

  
"Right," Atari said, standing up. "These are my parents, Chi-Chi and Goku. My two brothers Gohan and Goten." She turned to her family. "Guys, this is the Doom Squad. They are Ana-Shifters from here and there. That means they can shift into a certain animal at will. This is Chitara," she continued, pointing to the woman she had just been talking with. "A hopeless gossip and cheetah-shifter. The cub beside her is Scamp, resident troublemaker, and a wolf-shifter. Proth is the technical genius and shifts into a lion. Sabre is a darkpanther-shifter, and Head of Guard before his planet was destroyed, and my sensei." 

  
"I am Tobias," a slender, vaguely bird-like man picked up. He grinned good-naturedly at them, shoving a mass of dark gold hair out of his eyes. "I'm an eagle. Golden eagle, to be specific. I run communications on Doom, the ship we came in on."

  
He nodded to the second female in their group. "That's Lyren. She's an osprey." Tobias leaned closer to the group and whispered, "And just between us, her mind is as flighty as he bird-body."

  
"She also has the hearing of her bird-body," Lyren said lightly, coming over to the group. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Son. Atari spoke of you often."

  
Atari blinked at Lyren in surprise. "I did? When?"

  
Lyren shrugged. "When you kept beating yourself up over our job," she said cryptically. 

  
Atari frowned, not particularly wanting to remember her past life out in space, but unable to truly forget it, either. Introductions continued quickly. There was Evasil, the third and last female in the crew. Tall, lanky, and an endless flirt. She was, both surprisingly and not, a fox-shifter. 

  
The other fox-shifter was a nervous-looking straggly man with glasses that perched on the edge of his nose. Geoffrey. Atari was not in the least bit ashamed to say it was her piloting that put most of that nervous tension in him.

  
Borjin was short, chubby, and very useless in a fight. But he was gold in mapping out ways to get through the tightest of spots. A born navigator. He was a ferret-shifter, which explained a lot about him.

  
Aslan, the second lion-shifter, was your carbon-copy hero. Perfectly golden hair, lightly tanned skin, and gentle gold eyes. Tall, muscular, but with a boyish feature that not even the years in slavery could banish completely. His attitude was the just as sickeningly optimistic. He never said a harsh word to anyone who hadn't crossed the very visible line, and believed with all his heart in the power of truth, love and justice triumphing over all. Atari and the others worked hard at letting him keep such a foolish belief. After all, someone needed to.

  
The ship's doctor was Orthos, a calm, laid back wolf-shifter. An unusual combination, to be sure. But there were very few others Atari would trust to heal her.

  
Finally there was Lynx, who was as his name suggested. A lynx-shifter. He ran the financial business of their job, whatever it might be at the time.

  
"And that's everyone," Atari finished. "Any questions?"

  
ChiChi and Goku traded worried glances. But it was little Goten, clinging tightly to his mother's skirt, who broached the question.

  
"You aren't going to leave now, are you, Atari?" Goten asked in a small voice.

  
"Of _course_ she is!" Scamp snorted, looking down at the boy. "She _belongs_ with us, out in space."

  
Unexpectedly, Goten got angry. "No she doesn't! She's _my_ sister! And she just got back-!"

  
"From being with _us_," Scamp finished triumphantly. His smirk faded and he took a threatening step towards Goten. "And you aren't going to stop us."

  
Atari's quiet snarl froze the cub in place. "Do not threaten my family, Scamp. You won't like the results."

  
Scamp stared at Atari in shock. "But…we're you family, remember?"

  
Atari sighed, closing her eyes against the headache. "We'll discuss this later."

  
Unhappy, but not wanting to incur her anger, Scamp dropped the subject. They all returned to the tables and light conversation was picked up again.

  
"I'll just go start dinner," Chi-Chi said firmly. "You all look like you haven't eaten properly in years!"

  
"I'll help you," Lyren volunteered. "I hardly ever get to cook for these guys."

  
Chi-Chi's eyes lit up happily. "Wonderful! You know, you would make a _superb_ wife with the right training…"

  
Atari winced as Lyren followed her mother inside and the conversation faded off. There goes another hardened warrior, she thought dryly. Looking back, her gaze landed on Lynx, who was glancing repeatedly at his watch.

  
"Don't you usually have a job lined up for them, Lynx?" Atari couldn't resist prodding him.

  
Lynx scowled at her before his face crumpled. "Five hundred million zenni," he moaned. "…gone!"

  
"It has been like a physical agony for him," Aslan rumbled, walking over to Atari. "But it is very good to see you again, Atari."

  
Atari smiled and slipped into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. It was this, Atari thought to herself, that she missed the most. The warm, safe embrace of Aslan, where she knew nothing could touch her. She and Aslan had been as close as two people could be and not be with each other. It had shocked everyone on Doom that they had never bedded the other. Truthfully Atari, had never given much thought to sleeping with Aslan. It just never crossed her mind when she was with him.

  
"Manage to hunt down a mate yet, Aslan?" Atari asked, pulling away.

  
Aslan shifted uncomfortably. "I could ask the same of you, Ri."

  
Atari's iron mask slid firmly into place. "It would be a wasted inquiry," she said coldly. Then she relented. "Forget it. You don't need an heir for many years yet."

  
Chitara sighed in a mockingly dreamy way. "You two are such hopeless romantics."

  
"I prefer the term pragmatic," Atari said mildly.

  
They talked for a few more minutes before Goten came over hesitantly. Atari looked down at him questioningly when he didn't immediately scramble up beside her.

  
"We are supposed to go to Trunks's house today," Goten reminded her, throwing Scamp a mean look. "We _always_ go after school."

  
"Don't antagonize him, Goten," Atari said distractedly, a smile blooming as she thought of their reactions to seeing Vegeta here. "Alright. But call Bulma first to make sure it's alright that I bring friends over, okay?"

  
Goten grinned. "Okay!" And raced inside to make the call.

  
"Who is Bulma and Trunks?" Aslan asked curiously.

  
"Trunks is a friend of Goten's," Atari explained. "Bulma is his mother. She also is the daughter of the technical genius Dr. Breifs," she added for Proth.

  
"I'll go!" Proth said promptly. 

  
"Big surprise," Tobias muttered. He glanced suspiciously at Atari's slightly malicious smile. "I'll go as well, though. If only to see what you're so happy about."

  
"Me, too." Chitara put in. "The only time I saw that particular grin was when you were about to take the pilot's seat and take Doom out for a spin."

  
Geoffrey shuddered. "I-I think I-I'll s-stay here," he whimpered.

  
"I'm staying too," Borjin drawled lethargically, sniffing at the air. "The food smells great."

  
"I will go as well," Aslan said. "Any friend of yours is worth meeting."

  
"I'm going." Scamp growled, crossing his arms stubbornly.

  
"I would not let Lady Atari go anywhere without me," Sabre rumbled. 

  
"I just _love_ meeting new people!" Evasil laughed. "Let's go!"

  
"Actually," Orthos said, glancing to the house. "I saw a small herbal garden Mrs. Son has in the back. I would like to take a look at that."

  
Lynx looked up from his conversation with Goku. "I'm staying to talk with your father, Atari. He's woefully uneducated in the way of business."

  
Atari winced in sympathy, throwing her father an apologetic glance. Goten came rushing back out, saying Bulma didn't mind, but Mom wanted them to be back before dark.

  
"Everyone who's coming," Atari said, rising in the air beside her brother. "Let's go."

  
As they left, Atari was surprised to see Darean coming with them. She shrugged to herself, thinking he only wanted another chance to push her into a spar. That made Atari smile. He would have his sparring partner, if he wished. If he got over the shock.

  
When they landed, Atari grinned wider when she didn't feel Vegeta's ki in the GR. Which meant he was with Bulma. A little searching proved her theory, and she and Goten lead the way up to the front door.

  
As usual, Goten rushed right in, eager to tell Trunks what had happened. Atari continued in more slowly, using the time to wipe her face into the usual expressionless mask.

  
By the time they got inside, Goten was nowhere in sight, but Atari could sense him upstairs with Trunks in the GR. "Playing".

  
"We're in here, Atari!" Bulma called from the living room.

  
Atari lead the way in silently, and took a brief look around. Bulma stood leaning against the recliner that Vegeta occupied, who looked anything but happy to be there. Mirai Trunks was leaning against the wall with one foot braced on the arm of the couch as he meticulously cleaned his crystal sword.

  



	6. Chapter 5

AN: FINALLY!!!!!! Woohoo! FanFiction is BACK! The world has been righted. 

Promos: Of course, there is always the illustrious (don't you just love that word? Rolls right off the tongue!) **DejaVu**. She has recently started a humor fic in the Dark Jewels Trilogy section.

  


Another AN: Sorry about the Chapter number mixup! It gets confusing when the prologue is labled as chapter one, and chapter one as chapter two, and etc. *this* is the real chapter five. **Secret Past**

  
**Chapter 5**

  


There came a soft, fearful whimpering from behind Atari as the others filed in politely. Atari glanced at Vegeta, her eyes gleaming wickedly. The Saiyan Prince looked decidedly less unhappy about being there. 

"P-P-Prince V-Vegeta!" Tobias froze, his eyes wide with fear. 

"_What?_" Evasil squeaked, backpedaling quickly. "H-How…Frieza said you were dead!" 

Vegeta chuckled, thoroughly enjoying their panic. He hadn't elicited this type of reaction from just his presence in _years_. Standing slowly, to prolong their suffering, he barred his teeth at the eight newcomers. 

"Oh, quit teasing them, Vegeta!" Bulma snapped, trying not to laugh and encourage her husband. 

"What's going on?" Mirai Trunks asked, walking over, holding his sword at his side absently. He looked at his father, then to his mother, and shook his head. "Never mind. I don't want to know." 

When he started for the door, which was incidentally directly past the small group, he found his way blocked by a very large man. Mirai blinked up at him, unworried, but slowly getting angry when the dark-skinned man did nothing more than stand in his way. 

"Move," Trunks growled softly. "You shall not pass me with that weapon in your possession," Sabre stated, his deep voice rumbling in a clear warning. 

"What? This?" Trunks raised the sword, unconsciously pointing it at the shifter. He glanced over at Atari. "Is he a friend of your, Atari?" 

Atari nodded. "I'd watch where you're pointing that thing, Mirai," she said mildly. "Or Sabre's likely to take your head off." 

Trunks glanced back at his sword, then lowered it to the ground, laughing sheepishly. "Oh, hey, sorry about that! Listen, I just want to go up-" 

"Mirai?" Evasil purred, hedging away from Vegeta and closer to Trunks. "That's an odd name. Who came up with that?" 

"Well…it's kind of a…nickname…" Trunks hedged, trying to scoot away from the advancing woman. 

Chitara let out a laughing groan. "Gods, here she goes again!" 

"Ten hundred zenni says she has him by the end of the visit," Aslan laughed. 

Atari threw him a sly glance. "I'll take that bet. After all, Mirai is the son of Vegeta." 

Evasil paled, jumping away from Trunks so quickly she almost fell. Trunks caught her arm, worry written plainly across his features. 

"Are you okay, Miss?" Trunks asked, concerned at how she seemed to be shaking a bit. 

"That really wasn't necessary, Atari." Bulma scolded. "You're scaring away perfectly good chances for me to have grandchildren!" 

"G-Grandchildren?" Tobias stuttered. "Y-You're…his mother? P-Prince Vegeta's…_m-mate_?" 

"Well…" Bulma prevaricated. "Technically, we haven't _actually_ done the mating ritual, _yet_. But-" 

"_Mother!_" Trunks yelled, clasping at his ears. "I don't want to hear about you and _Dad_. That's _gross_!" 

Bulma laughed, winking at the group. "Well, Atari? Aren't you going to introduce us to your friends, or do you have more surprises for them? Maybe tell them about Trunks?" 

Atari smirked. "I believe one shock is enough for them. Bulma, Mirai, Vegeta, meet the Doom Squad." She nodded to each one as she introduced them. "This is Tobias, Proth, Scamp, Chitara, Sabre, Evasil, Aslan, and Darean. Guys, this is Bulma Briefs, her… ah, son Trunks, and her husband Vegeta." 

"The Doom Squad, huh?" Vegeta grunted, his glare raking over the small group. "I remember there being more of you." 

"Lyren, Orthos, Lynx, Borjin, and Geoffrey opted to stay up at Atari's place," Chitara said, the quickest to come to terms with seeing the Prince. She flashed Bulma a wicked smile. "So, someone finally tamed the Monkey-Prince. We had a bet going to see how long it would actually take." 

Vegeta growled. "I am in no way tamed!" 

Atari bit the inside of her cheek hard in an effort not to say a thing. From the looks Vegeta was throwing her, if she so much as snickered, he would cheerfully disembowel her. Fortunately, Trunks broke first. 

Evasil glanced warily at Trunks when he started laughing softly. "What's so funny?" She asked. 

"D-Dad…" Trunks got out between fits of giggles. "…thinks…not domesticated! Mother…pants…!" 

"That's it, boy!" Vegeta yelled. "You and me! In the GR! _Now!_" 

Trunks gulped, all traces of amusement gone. He shot his mother a desperate, pleading look. 

"Vegeta." Bulma said in a warning tone. 

Vegeta glared at his wife and opened his mouth to retort when it suddenly snapped shut. Outrage, fury, and finally defeat crossed his face before he hung his head hand stormed to the Gravity Room alone. Bulma turned to her stunned guests with a smug grin. 

"Now, why don't you all get comfortable while I go-" 

_BOOM!!!!_

An explosion rocked through the house, making everyone fight for their balance. Bulma, apparently used to this, stumbled to the wall to catch various knickknacks as they fell. Evasil, caught completely off guard, stumbled into Trunks, who caught her and held her up with absent-minded chivalry. 

"Oh, no…" Trunks moaned, wincing as Chibi Trunks and Goten came barreling downstairs. As Super Saiyans. 

"Your mom is going to _kill_ you Trunks!" Goten yelled. "I _told_ you it was up too high to do that trick!" 

"Shut up, Goten!" Trunks grumbled. "It's not _my_ fault the thing's not made right!" 

"Why wouldn't it have been made right?" Goten asked curiously. "Wasn't it Bulma that made it?" 

"Yeah, so what? Dad says that she never made it right all the time when _he_ blows it up!" 

Bulma carefully set the valuables on a nearby table before screaming for the boys. "GOTEN!! TRUNKS!!! _GET IN HERE!!!!_" 

The two demi-terrors froze in their escape to the outside, breaking into a nervous sweat. Atari glanced over at her group to see Proth, Scamp, Tobias, and Aslan all leaning back from the screeching woman. The only ones unaffected by the blue-haired woman's burst of temper were the females and Sabre and Darean. Atari wasn't too surprised. 

"_Do you mean to tell me that you two BLEW UP THE GRAVITY ROOM!!!_" Bulma demanded shrilly, grabbing the two boys by their hair and lifting them up off the floor, oblivious to their Super Saiyan state. 

"Those…are Super Siayans." Tobias said quietly, to himself. 

"I can see that," Aslan said, just as faintly, not wanting to attract the woman's fury. "I can also see how she is the mate of Prince Vegeta." 

Chitara snickered. "I like her!" She announced approvingly. 

Chibi Trunks, hearing strange voices, took a stab at a reprieve from his mother's yelling. 

"I thought you always said you wouldn't yell at us with company over, Mom." Trunks said, pitching his voice where it wasn't quite a statement. 

Bulma paused and seemed to remember her guests. "Oh, yes, that's right," she said, completely back to normal. She glared down at the boys, releasing them. "We'll talk about this later. Count on it." 

Goten, seeing an opening, rushed over to Atari. "Sister!" 

Trunks followed quickly. "Hey, Atari! Wanna spar with us? It'll have to be in the back, though." 

"Yeah," Goten piped. " 'Cause Trunks broke the GR showing me this _awesome_ new trick- _Ouch!!_" 

"_Goten!_" Trunks yelled, pulling back to hit his friend up side his head again as he glanced over to his mother. "_Shut up!!_" 

"Oops!" Goten said, covering his mouth with his hand. "Sorry Trunks!" 

But something else had already caught the young Saiyan's eye. "Hey Goten, who's the kid?" Trunks asked, pointing at Scamp. 

Goten scowled at the boy, who returned the look. "His name's Scamp." 

Trunks gauged the other boy's power level. "He's not very strong, is he?" 

Scamp growled, his eyes flashing. "I'm a lot stronger than _you_!" 

Trunks smiled his father's evil smile. "Want to spar, then? Lucky for you, you'll only have to fight me in normal gravity! And I'll even stay regular for you, since you're new. No going Super." 

Scamp gritted his teeth and glanced up at Atari. "Is it alright if I go, Atari?" 

Atari nodded. "Sure, Scamp." She glanced over at the boys sternly. "Keep it one-on-one, boys." So Scamp can actually stand a chance, she finished in her mind. 

Trunks grinned at her, making her think he had actually heard her thoughts. "No prob., Atari! Come on, Goten!" 

Bulma sighed as the three boys ran outside. "We might as well make ourselves comfortable," she said with a grin. "Those guys will fight until they can't move an inch." 

"Would it be alright if we made ourselves comfortable outside?" Mirai Trunks asked his mother. "I'm kind of curious about Scamp's fighting technique. And how Trunks and Goten will handle it." 

"My sentiments exactly," Proth seconded the idea. "Only it is the two young boys I wish to study. To be able to turn into the legendary Super Saiyan at such a young age is quite an intriguing puzzle." 

Bulma's eyes lit up. "A scientist!" She cried happily, linking arms with him and guiding them all outside. "This is excellent! I was wondering…" 

"There goes Proth for the evening," Evasil giggled. 

Mirai Trunks grinned. "There goes _Mother_ for the rest of the week. She won't stop until she's picked his brain clean of any and all information she doesn't know already." 

"Really?" Evasil said, leaning closer to him as they walked, apparently over her previous fear of him. "Proth's like that too!" 

Aslan leaned over to Atari. "Looks like the bet's still on." 

Atari growled at him irritably. "I'll still win." 

Aslan laughed deeply, throwing a companionable arm around her shoulders. "Not a chance, Atari! Evasil looks positively _smitten_ with the boy!" 

Bulma, her attention grabbed by how Atari permitted this gesture of companionship, sucked in an excited breath. Proth, seeing where she was looking, decided it was best to burst her bubble before she said anything to make Atari mad. 

"Not going to happen," he said softly, moving closer to Bulma so they wouldn't be overheard. 

"What isn't?" Bulma asked, her eyes stilled locked on the couple. 

"Aslan and Atari," Proth supplied lowly. "They aren't going to get together." 

Bulma pouted, turning back to her fellow scientist. "Why not?" 

A corner of Proth's mouth lifted in a small smile. "That's why," he said, nodding ever so slightly to Darean. 

Bulma turned her head to see Darean glaring hard from Aslan to his arm looped casually over Atari's shoulders. If looks could kill, Aslan would have been in HFIL a long time ago. Her eyes widened in delight when she recognized the territorial gleam in the man's eyes. To say nothing of the carefully hidden jealousy. She turned back to Proth quickly. 

"You mean…" Bulma glanced from Atari to Darean. 

Proth nodded. "Yes. Although neither of them have noticed as of yet, they have actually started the very beginnings of the mating process." 

Bulma clutched at her stomach, which was aching with the need to laugh. "Bonding?" She gasped out. 

Proth nodded. "Yes. However, it's being hampered by the hatred Atari feels towards him for what she believes is a betrayal." 

Bulma frowned, no longer laughing. "What kind of betrayal?" 

Proth shook his head. "It's not my place to say," he stated firmly. "It's Atari's hell. If she wants to share it, you'll know." 

By then, they had all reached the backyard and settled down for the show. Trunks and Goten were a little over to the right in a heated battle of rock-paper-scissors to see who would be going first. Scamp was stretching over to the left, getting ready. 

Atari had managed to produce several chairs and everyone had assumed positions around her. Aslan, naturally, was on her right, and Chitara had taken the open spot on her left. The others formed a sort of line beside the three of them. Darean, refusing to sit, came to stand just slightly behind Atari. Not close enough for her to snap, but not so far away that Aslan didn't notice him immediately. Bulma and Proth took their seats well behind the line of the Doom Squad, mostly because Bulma wanted to watch the fight between Atari and Darean more than the one between her son and Goten, and Scamp. 

Trunks suddenly gave a cry of victory. "Rock smashes scissors!" He yelled. "I get to fight him first!" 

"Finally!" Scamp yelled back, looking impatient. "What kind of ridiculous ritual was that, anyway?" 

"We had to choose which one of us would fight you," Trunks said with condescending patience. "After all, it really wouldn't be fair if we teamed up on you. We'd beat you in _seconds_!" 

"Right!" Scamp laughed. "You're just stalling! Come and fight me!" 

Trunks shrugged. "Okay." 

And just like that, the match had begun. Trunks and Scamp flew at each other, fists and legs flying in a blur. The two different techniques collided in a violent storm of flesh on flesh. Fortunately for Trunks, Atari had taught them enough of the moves that he could keep the upper hand. 

Scamp was getting frustrated, everyone on the ground could see that easily. None of his attacks were getting through, and yet he didn't know enough about Trunks's attacks to properly block them. His frustration mounted when it appeared the purple-haired boy was mocking him, darting in and out to lay a few blows on him. 

"Quite fooling around, Trunks!" Goten yelled from the ground. "I want to fight him now!" 

"Why?" Trunks asked, letting down his guard completely to look down at Goten. "He's not any _good_!" 

Scamp, seeing the boy's focus diverted from the battle, attacked, but still the demi-Saiyan managed to block the attacks. With a howl of rage, he kicked back from the boy and released his hold on his animal half, shifting to his half-way wolf form. 

"I was wondering when he would loose it," Proth murmured with a grin. 

Bulma stared up at the boy in wide-eyed amazement. "What happened to him?" 

"He Shifted," Proth replied simply. "His animal, as you can tell, is a wolf. In his halfway form, his speed, strength, and agility are, at the very least, tripled." 

Bulma frowned. "That's a little too much like Trunks ascending to Super Saiyan, for my tastes." 

Proth shrugged, unconcerned. "It doesn't seem to be bothering your son," he said. 

And that was true. Trunks looked positively delighted at this sudden jump in power level, and was attacking the boy with renewed vigor. He grinned even more broadly as Scamp actually scored on him. 

"This is great!" Trunks laughed, dodging a punch. "You should have changed earlier, Scamp!" 

Scamp's only response was an inarticulate growl. Ducking under Trunks' guard, he hit the kid hard enough to knock him into the ground, making a small crater, dust flying everywhere. But when it cleared, Trunks was gone, and Scamp turned just in time to be dealt a double-fisted blow to the jaw. 

Now that they were on more even ground, the fight progressed more slowly. Small ki blasts were exchanged, but nothing too big. Things carried on like this for an hour or so. During that time, Proth had gleaned enough information from the fighters to satisfy him, and he and Bulma headed off for the Lab. 

"That's it!" Trunks yelled after being knocked into the ground once again. "It's time to end this!" 

"If…you think…you can…" Scamp panted, obviously exhausted. 

Trunks smirked and put his hands out in front of him, gathering energy briefly. "_FINAL FLASH!!!_" 

Scamp's eyes went wide as Trunks fired his father's trademark attack. He was so shocked, he didn't even think about dodging the attack, and it hit him straight on, knocking him into the horizon. 

"Whoops," Trunks laughed, crossing his arms as he watched the beam of light carry the wolf-shifter away. "Guess he didn't know to duck." 

From the doorway came the sound of deep, approving, slightly evil laughter. Vegeta stood leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on his lips. 

"Well done, brat!" Vegeta laughed harshly. "A perfect way to use intimidation and power!" 

Trunks blushed lightly at the praise. "Thanks, Dad. But he really wasn't too much of an opponent. I didn't even need to go Super." 

"Then how about you try someone a little bit more…skilled," Darean growled, flying up to hover in front of the boy. 

  
~~~~~~~~~

  
AN: There! I've FINALLY posted! *gives wide, vulnerable-eyed look* You'll review now, right? Thanks be to the ones who reviewed! DejaVu, Alicia, Lady Serendipity, and everyone else! *sniff* You make me so happy! As always, REVIEW!!!!!!!! Many thanks. 

  
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